On Monday night, President Trump said he was “not confident” that the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas would hold through all three phases.
When asked by a reporter if he thinks the deal will last, Trump said, “I’m not confident. It’s not our war. It is their war. I am not confident. But I think they’re very weakened on the other side.”
While Trump said the conflict is not “our war,” the Israeli military is entirely reliant on US military aid to sustain operations in Gaza. According to Israeli officials, the Trump administration had agreed to provide more weapons as part of a deal to reach the ceasefire.
Trump also noted the mass destruction in Gaza, saying the enclave was like a “massive demolition site” and adding that it was a “phenomenal location on the sea.”
“You know, everything’s good. It’s like, some beautiful things could be done with it,” Trump said.
Pressure from Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was key to getting Israel to agree to the deal, and there are signs Witkoff is determined to ensure it lasts, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he’s received a guarantee from the US that he could restart the genocidal war.
“[Trump] welcomed the agreement and rightly emphasized that the first stage of the agreement is a temporary ceasefire. That is what he said, ‘a temporary ceasefire,'” Netanyahu said over the weekend.
Netanyahu is under pressure from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and other extremist elements of his government to not only restart the genocidal campaign but completely take over the Gaza Strip. Smotrich said he was given a guarantee from Netanyahu that after the first phase of the deal, which involves a 42-day ceasefire, Israel will begin the “gradual takeover of the entire Gaza Strip.”
