After Israel Bombed Gaza And Killed Over 42 Palestinians, Trump Said The Ceasefire Is "Still In Place"
US President Donald Trump said that the ceasefire is still in place and that the US would ensure that it is going to be “very peaceful.”
The Israeli military has said that it has “resumed enforcement of the ceasefire” in Gaza after it killed more than 38 Palestinians in a wave of air strikes on Sunday, Oct. 19.
The Israeli military had launched several attacks across Gaza and halted all aid entering Gaza, claiming it was in response to “terrorists” firing anti-tank missile and gunfire toward its troops in Rafah and killing two soldiers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to respond forcefully to what he described as Hamas' violations of the ceasefire, according to Reuters.
However, US officials told Drop Site News that the Rafah explosion was actually caused by an Israeli settler bulldozer running over unexploded ordnance and not a Hamas tunnel attack.
Hamas had denied involvement in the incident, reaffirming that it is committed to the ceasefire deal.
It added that it was not aware of any clashes in Rafah as it is in a Red Zone area that is still under Israeli control and that it has no communication with its forces in the area.
By the evening of Sunday, Oct. 19, the Israeli government said in a statement that the ceasefire was back in place.
Drop Site News reported that after Washington told Israel it knew the truth about the explosion, Netanyahu quietly announced he would reopen the crossings “in a few hours.”
When asked by reporters, US President Donald Trump said on Air Force One later that the ceasefire is still in place and that the US would ensure that it is going to be “very peaceful.”
He said that he believed that Hamas leadership “may not have been involved” in the attacks, adding that it may have been “some rebels within”.
Hamas said that Israel has already violated the ceasefire multiple times, including shooting and killing civilians, reducing the amount of aid allowed into Gaza and crossing the agreed upon “yellow line.”
Israel has violated the ceasefire 80 times, killing at least 97 Palestinians and wounded 230 since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.
Cherry Mohamed
Ikran Dahir
Kassy Cho
