U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that Washington is “looking into” whether Israel violated the Gaza ceasefire with its weekend strike that killed senior Hamas commander Raad Saad.
Trump denied any rift with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel, after Axios reported that the White House sent a sharp rebuke to Netanyahu over the assassination, alleging it breached the ceasefire.
The outlet reported that a U.S. official told Axios, “The White House message to Netanyahu was, ‘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.’”
According to U.S. sources, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, senior envoy Steve Witkoff and Middle East adviser Jared Kushner are frustrated with Netanyahu, citing Israeli inflexibility on Gaza issues.
Israel is reportedly concerned that Washington may push forward with the next phase of the ceasefire, even before the last deceased hostage held in Gaza is returned and before a clear plan for Hamas’ disarmament is in place.
The second phase of Trump’s Gaza plan outlines governing arrangements and envisions Hamas disarming while Israel withdraws as a multinational force is deployed and a Palestinian technocratic body assumes daily management of Gaza.
Asked about the International Stabilization Force (ISF), Trump said it is “already running in a form.”
Meanwhile, on Dec. 16 Qatar was scheduled to host a CENTCOM-led meeting on the ISF.
The meeting did not include Türkiye, according to Israeli media. Representatives from 45 countries attended. Israel continues to oppose Turkish participation in the peacekeeping force.
Hebrew media reported that Netanyahu met U.S. envoy Tom Barrack in Jerusalem amid unusually blunt messages from the Trump administration ahead of a planned U.S.–Israel summit in Florida.
