Trump Says Ceasefire is Still On, as Israel Pounds Gaza in Retaliatory Strike

Articles | October 29, 2025 | by Catholics for Catholics

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Despite the attacks, President Donald Trump said nothing will end the peace deal.

By Catholics for Catholics

Despite a U.S. brokered peace deal, Israel maintained airstrikes in Gaza, killing dozens of people on Wednesday, testing the fragile armistice between both sides.

Israel said the attacks were in retaliation to a previous attack by Palestinian terrorists who killed an Israeli soldier, according to Newsmax.

The Israeli military confirmed the soldier’s death on Wednesday. Health authorities in Gaza said the strikes by Israel killed at least 70 people. The casualties included five in a house hit in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, four in a building in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, and five in a car in Khan Younis.

President Donald Trump acknowledged the fighting between both sides, saying Hamas broke the truce by attacking Israeli soldiers. But he added that the peace deal is still on.

“As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “So, the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back,” he added.

“Nothing is going to jeopardize” the ceasefire, Trump said. “You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave.”

President Donald Trump says the ceasefire deal is not at risk even after Israel launched airstrikes at Gaza, killing scores of people. https://t.co/oS2JfBGZEG pic.twitter.com/QQRLGSj7aw

— USA TODAY Politics (@usatodayDC) October 29, 2025

The ceasefire agreement, which was brokered by the U.S. with the support of several nations in the Middle East, went into effect on Oct. 10. It stopped two years of war that started with a deadly Hamas attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

But now, both sides have accused each other of ceasefire violations.

“If they (Hamas) are good, they are going to be happy and if they are not good, they are going to be terminated, their lives will be terminated,” Trump said. “Nobody knows what happened to the Israeli soldier but they say it was sniper fire. And it was retribution for that, and I think they have a right to do that.”

Hamas denied responsibility for the attack on Israeli forces in Rafah, in southern Gaza, and said in a statement that it remained committed to the ceasefire deal.