The White House on Monday privately scolded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Israel assassinated a senior Hamas commander, according to two U.S. officials who spoke with 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 [Donald] Trump's reputation after he brokered the deal in Gaza," a senior U.S. official said.
An Israeli official told Axios the message was milder — that "certain Arab countries" consider it a ceasefire violation.
But U.S. officials said the White House was explicit that Israel violated the ceasefire.
An Israeli official told the news outlet that the killing of Raed Saad, "an arch-terrorist who worked day in and day out to violate the agreement and renew the fighting, was carried out in response to these violations and was intended to ensure the continuation of the ceasefire."
The White House is growing increasingly concerned about Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, a senior U.S. official told Axios.
Hamas sources described Saad as the second in command of the group's armed wing, after Izzeldin al-Haddad.
Israel said Saad was one of the key architects of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war as Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 people to Gaza.
Hamas has not identified an overall chief since Israel killed the group's head, Yahya Sinwar, in 2024. Instead, the group has since been led by a five-member leadership council.
Since the ceasefire, Israeli forces remain in control of the depopulated eastern half of Gaza while the terrorist group has reasserted its control over the western half, where nearly all of the enclave's more than 2 million people live in the ruins.
The warring sides have yet to agree on next steps.
Israel demands Hamas disarm and be barred from any future administration of Gaza. Hamas says it will not give up its arms and wants Israeli forces to withdraw fully.
The agreement calls for a U.N.-authorized International Stabilization Force to help keep peace.
Khalil al-Hayya, the Hamas negotiator, said the force should be restricted to Gaza's border, outside the territory.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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