The White House sent a strongly worded personal message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, emphasizing that the killing of a senior military commander of the radical Islamist group Hamas over the weekend violated the ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump. About this report Axios has references to sources.
According to two US officials, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's advisor and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are all extremely dissatisfied with the Israeli prime minister's actions.
“The message from the White House to Netanyahu is: 'If you want to ruin your reputation and demonstrate that you do not honor the agreement, go ahead, but we will not allow you to destroy President Trump's reputation after he brokered the Gaza deal,'” a senior US official said.
In contrast, an Israeli official confirmed receipt of the message but said it was more subdued. Israeli sources said the government told the Trump administration that it was Hamas that violated the agreement by attacking soldiers and continuing to smuggle weapons.
“The killing of Raed Saad, a notorious terrorist who violated the agreement day after day and resumed hostilities, was carried out in response to these violations and to ensure the continuation of the ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
Previously, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that negotiations to consolidate the ceasefire agreement reached in the Gaza Strip are at a “critical point”. The minister emphasized that the ceasefire cannot be considered complete until the Israeli army completely withdraws, restoring stability in Gaza as well as the freedom of entry and exit of the population. Today this is not happening, he noted.
