Envoys of US President Donald Trump, who are expected to arrive in Israel this week, have urged Minister Ron Dermer, a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to respond in a measured manner to Hamas’ violations of the ceasefire. According to an American official, Trump’s emissaries, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, spoke with Dermer on Sunday about the situation and pressed him to ensure that Israel’s response to Hamas’ breach would be calculated and avoid actions that could derail Trump’s ongoing peace initiative.
A regional diplomatic source said there is a strong likelihood that Iran was involved in the attack on the IDF unit. According to the source, Iran maintains continuous contact with parts of Hamas’ leadership as well as field commanders, and has a clear interest in sabotaging the ceasefire and undermining efforts to end the war.
At the same time, Israel’s political leadership has ordered the halt of humanitarian aid transfers to the Gaza Strip and decided to keep the Rafah crossing closed.
During a conversation last week between Netanyahu and Trump, the prime minister presented a range of potential responses to possible Hamas violations. Netanyahu reportedly told the president that Hamas was likely to breach the agreement while testing the limits of Israel’s patience without fully breaking the ceasefire.
Today as well, Israel briefed the Americans on its response steps without providing precise details, but clarified that it was not resuming the ground offensive at this stage.
First Appeared on
Source link
