Trump administration ‘looks into’ whether Israel violated Gaza ceasefire
US president denies rift with Netanyahu after reports White House rebuked Israeli leader over assassination of senior Hamas commander
WASHINGTON, United States (MNTV) — U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration is “looking into” whether Israel violated the Gaza ceasefire following a weekend strike that killed senior Hamas commander Raad Saad.
Trump rejected suggestions of a rupture between Washington and Tel Aviv, or between himself and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after Axios reported that the White House privately reprimanded Netanyahu over the assassination, warning that the strike may have breached the ceasefire agreement.
According to Axios, a U.S. official described the message sent to Netanyahu in unusually blunt terms.
“The White House message to Netanyahu was simple,” the official said. “If you want to ruin your reputation and show that you don’t abide by agreements, be our guest. But we won’t allow you to ruin President Trump’s reputation after he brokered the deal in Gaza.”
Senior US officials — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Middle East adviser Jared Kushner — are reportedly growing increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu, citing Israel’s inflexibility on key Gaza-related issues.
Israeli officials, meanwhile, are said to be concerned that Washington may attempt to advance the next phase of the ceasefire before the return of the final deceased Israeli hostage held in Gaza and in the absence of a clear framework for Hamas’ disarmament.
The second phase of Trump’s Gaza plan outlines post-war governance arrangements, including Hamas laying down its weapons, Israel withdrawing from Gaza, the deployment of a multinational force, and the transfer of daily administrative responsibilities to a Palestinian technocratic authority.
When asked about the proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF), Trump claimed it is “already running in a form,” without providing further details.
On December 16, Qatar was scheduled to host a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)-led meeting focused on the ISF. Israeli media reported that Türkiye was excluded from the meeting, which was attended by representatives from 45 countries.
Israel has consistently opposed Turkish participation in any future peacekeeping or stabilization force in Gaza.
Hebrew-language media also reported that Netanyahu met U.S. envoy Tom Barrack in Jerusalem amid increasingly direct messages from the Trump administration, ahead of a planned US–Israel summit in Florida.
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