Trump's role in the breakdown of the Gaza truce
The White House confirms that Tel Aviv had informed Washington before the bombing began.
WashingtonTwo weeks ago, President Donald Trump issued another ultimatum to Hamas and all Palestinians living in Gaza. Either all Israeli hostages were released immediately or there would be "hell." "To the people of Gaza: A wonderful future awaits you, but not if you hold the hostages. If you hold them, you're DEAD! Make a SMART decision," Trump wrote to Truth Social. Hell broke loose on the Strip early Tuesday morning. And Washington, with its complicity, undoes the ceasefire in Gaza that it helped agree to two months ago.
Israel has bombed Gaza again with the approval of the Trump administration. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the government had received advance warning of the attack. "The Trump administration and the White House were consulted by the Israelis about their attacks on Gaza tonight," she said in an interview on Fox. Spokesman Brian Hughes also stated that "Hamas could have released the hostages to extend the ceasefire, but instead it chose refusal and war."
The White House's statement ignores the fact that the Israeli attack on Gaza has blew up negotiations for a second phase that would have resulted in the release of more Israeli hostages. Even so, Trump has long since already endorses Israel's plans for ethnic cleansing against Palestinians This has fueled tensions in the truce negotiations. Despite the White House confirming it had held direct talks with the Islamist group, Washington had been working against the continuation of the truce for days.
Throughout this time, the United States has continued to arm Israel. In fact, it is one of the few recipients of US foreign aid—one of the largest, too—that has not been affected by government cuts. Since Trump took office on January 20, he has already authorized nearly $12 billion in arms sales to Israel, according to a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In that statement, Rubio explained that he had used the emergency route.
Praising Netanyahu's plans
This is the second time in recent weeks that the Trump administration has used its ability to quickly approve arms sales to Israel without congressional review. This is not the first time it has been used since the beginning of the Israeli genocide in Gaza, where more than 48,000 Palestinians have died. Former President Joe Biden also used this power on several occasions to accelerate arms sales to his partner.
At the same time, in recent months, Trump has encouraged Netanyahu to continue with his plans to empty the Strip. The US president supports the plan for ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people and has repeatedly emphasized the idea of turning Gaza into the new "Riviera of the Middle East." In recent weeks, Trump has also been pressuring Jordan and Egypt to accept the exodus of Palestinians he wants to provoke in order to turn the Strip into a new real estate business.