Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened another retaliation against Hamas following what his office described as a "violation" of the ceasefire and the Trump-brokered peace roadmap, after an Israeli officer was wounded by an improvised explosive device (IED) in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The Israeli military said Wednesday that the officer was injured when an IED exploded beneath an armored vehicle during a military "clearing" operation in Rafah.
Netanyahu's office accused Hamas on X of a “continued and blatant breach” of the ceasefire agreement. “Hamas’s public and ongoing refusal to disarm is a serious violation,” the statement claimed. “Their violent intentions were reaffirmed today through the bombing.”
The statement reiterated the Israeli government's demand that Hamas be held accountable for what it considers violations of the agreement—terms that include the removal of Hamas from governance, complete disarmament, and the suppression of what it labels 'extremism.' It concluded with a warning: “Israel will respond.”
The so-called "Trump peace deal," which underpins the current ceasefire framework, calls for a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, a prisoner exchange, and the establishment of a new governing authority that excludes Hamas—despite its popular legitimacy and role in Palestinian resistance.
Hamas has categorically rejected this framing. The movement maintains that Israel is the primary violator of the ceasefire, citing near-daily airstrikes on homes and makeshift shelters for displaced civilians, along with its refusal to withdraw from the besieged territory.
In Ankara, a Turkish foreign ministry source told Reuters that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met on Wednesday with senior Hamas political bureau officials to discuss the status of the truce and efforts to push the agreement into its second phase.
According to the source, Hamas told Fidan it has met all its obligations under the ceasefire deal, while Israel continues to delay implementation and escalate its attacks to derail progress. Hamas officials also emphasized that humanitarian aid remains woefully insufficient, with urgent shortages of medicine, shelter materials, and fuel.
Since the ceasefire came into effect in October 2025, Israel has continued its near-daily bombardment of Gaza—striking civilian homes and tent encampments hosting internally displaced people. Israel has refused to move to the next phase of the agreement until the last Israeli captive—believed to be buried under rubble—is recovered.
