Trump says Gaza ceasefire is still in force after deadly Israeli strikes
Washington DC - President Donald Trump said Sunday that a ceasefire in Gaza was still holding after Israel carried out deadly strikes on the territory.

The dozens of strikes Israel carried out in southern Gaza Sunday came after it accused Hamas of targeting its troops in "a blatant violation" of the nine-day-old truce.
Asked by reporters whether the truce was still in effect, Trump said: "Yeah, it is." The US president, who helped broker the deal, also suggested that Hamas leadership was not involved in any alleged breaches, instead blaming "some rebels within."
"We want to make sure that it's going to be very peaceful with Hamas," Trump said. "It's going to be handled toughly, but properly."
Gaza's civil defense agency said the strikes killed at least 45 people across the territory. Four hospitals in Gaza confirmed the death toll of 45 to AFP, saying they had received the dead and wounded.
The Israeli army said it had "renewed enforcement of the ceasefire" on Sunday but vowed to "respond firmly to any violation of it."
Hamas denied the accusations, one official accusing Israel of fabricating "pretexts" to resume the war.
A security official also told AFP that Israel was suspending the entry of aid into Gaza due to ceasefire violations.
Israel maintained a brutal blockade during its war on Gaza, exacerbating dire humanitarian conditions, with the United Nations saying it caused a famine there.
"Blood has returned" in Gaza

The ceasefire, which began on October 10, halted more than two years of devastating Israeli assault on Gaza.
The deal established the outline for hostage exchanges and proposed a roadmap for Gaza's future. But it has quickly faced challenges to its implementation.
Israel said on Sunday that two of its soldiers died in clashes in the city of Rafah.
"Earlier today, terrorists fired anti-tank missiles and opened fire on IDF (Israeli army) forces," in Rafah, the military said in a statement. "The IDF responded with air strikes by fighter jets and artillery fire, targeting the Rafah area."
Palestinian witnesses told AFP clashes erupted in the southern city in an area still held by Israel.
One witness, a 38-year-old man who asked not to be named, said that Hamas had been fighting a local gang supported by Israel known as Abu Shabab, but the militants were "surprised by the presence of army tanks."
"The air force conducted two strikes from the air," he added.
According to Palestinian journalist Younis Tarawi, the Rafah incident was not an attack by Hamas. Rather, a group of settlers passed over an explosive device or unexploded ordnance in their vehicle while demolishing what remains of Rafah's houses.
Abdullah Abu Hasanin (29) from Al‑Bureij camp in central Gaza where Israel launched strikes, said: "The situation is as if the war has returned anew."
"We had hoped the agreement would hold, but the occupation respects nothing – not an agreement, not anything."
He said he had rushed to the site of the bombing to help, adding: "The scene is indescribable. Blood has returned again."
Israel accused of trying to "restart the genocide"

AFP images from Bureij showed Palestinians running for cover from the strikes, as well as the dead and wounded arriving at Deir al-Balah hospital, accompanied by grieving relatives.
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas would "pay a heavy price for every shot and every breach of the ceasefire," adding Israel's response would "become increasingly severe."
A statement from Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of Hamas' political bureau, reaffirmed the group's commitment to the ceasefire.
Israel, it said, "continues to breach the agreement and fabricate flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes."
Hamas' armed wing insisted on Sunday that it had "no knowledge" of any clashes in Rafah.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has accused Israel of looking for an "excuse" to "restart the genocide" in Gaza.
"Since the start of the ceasefire, the Netanyahu regime has been itching to fully restart the genocide in Gaza. Now it's using whatever incident took place in Israeli-occupied Rafah, which local journalists report was an Israeli demolition crew injuring itself on unexploded ordinance, as an excuse to do so," CAIR said in a statement.
"The cruel and unnecessary mass bombing of civilians across Gaza constitutes a blatant violation of President Trump's ceasefire agreement and a resumption of the genocide. President Trump must rein in the Israeli occupation forces and stop sending American weapons and American taxpayer dollars to fund Israel's war machine."
Under Trump's 20-point plan, Israeli forces have withdrawn beyond the so-called Yellow Line. That leaves them in control of around half of Gaza, including the territory's borders but not its main cities.
Israel killed at least 68,159 people in Gaza over the last two years, according to the health ministry, though the true number is believed to be far higher.
Cover photo: Collage: REUTERS & BASHAR TALEB / AFP