Asked by reporters when the second phase would begin, Trump dodged the question, saying only that things were going well.
“Today they had a problem with a bomb that went off, it hurt some people pretty badly, probably killed some people,” he said at the White House, referring to Israeli attacks in the southern Gaza Strip that killed at least five Palestinians on Wednesday night, in a fresh violation of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.
“They tell me it just happened. But it’s going very well. We have peace in the Middle East. People don’t realize that,” he said.
The attacks came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to “respond adequately” to the wounding of soldiers in clashes with Palestinian fighters in Rafah.
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement involves the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the reconstruction of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Israel has killed more than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, and wounded nearly 171,000 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.
(Vijesti.ba)
