Netanyahu Is Blowing Up the Gaza Ceasefire — and Trump Is the One Losing Face |
Israeli bombs rained down once again across Gaza on Tuesday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his military to “immediately carry out powerful strikes,” in the most serious challenge to the current ceasefire agreement to date.
The bombing killed at least 20 people, according to Gaza officials. It came just four days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio toured a new U.S. military base in Israel, a rare deployment of U.S. forces meant to signal that President Donald Trump was serious about maintaining the end to the bombardment of Gaza.
“There is no plan B,” Rubio said on the tour, rebuffing an Israeli reporter’s question of whether Israel needed Trump’s permission before resuming its attacks on Gaza. “This is the best plan, it’s the only plan, it’s one that we think can succeed.”
According to The Associated Press, Israel notified the Trump administration before conducting Tuesday’s strikes — presenting the question of whether the U.S. would hold Netanyahu accountable for the latest round of ceasefire violations.
“All eyes now are going to be on Washington,” said Yousef Munayyer, head of the Palestine/Israel Program at Arab Center Washington DC. “Would they really be a referee that calls balls and strikes fairly? Or were they just there for decoration and were they just going to allow the Israelis to get away with murder, as they always have?”
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance signaled that they would opt for the latter. He described the attacks as “little skirmishes here and there” and said that “the ceasefire is holding.”
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“We know that Hamas or somebody else within Gaza attacked an [Israeli military] soldier,” Vance said. “We expect the Israelis are going to respond, but I think the president’s peace is........