Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
The White House has issued a sharply worded private rebuke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over an Israeli airstrike in Gaza that Washington considers a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement brokered by President Donald Trump, according to two US officials cited by Axios.
The officials said the killing of a senior Hamas military commander during the weekend constituted a breach of the ceasefire, triggering strong frustration within the Trump administration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner were all described as deeply displeased with Netanyahu’s decision to authorize the strike.
One senior US official characterized the message sent to Netanyahu as unusually blunt, warning that Israel’s actions risk undermining not only its own credibility but also that of the US president. “If you want to destroy your reputation and show that you don’t stick to agreements, be our guest,” the official said. “But we will not allow you to damage President Trump’s reputation after he mediated the Gaza deal.”
According to the US officials, the White House’s position was unequivocal: Israel had violated the ceasefire. An Israeli official acknowledged Washington’s displeasure but claimed the message was less severe, suggesting it merely noted that “some Arab countries” viewed the strike as a breach of the agreement.
The Israeli government, for its part, told the Trump administration that Hamas had violated the ceasefire first by attacking Israeli soldiers and resuming weapons smuggling. The Israeli official said the killing of Raed Saad, a senior figure in Hamas’s military wing, was carried out in response to those alleged violations and was intended to preserve, rather than derail, the ceasefire.
Israel carried out the strike on Saturday, killing Saad in Gaza City. The attack resulted in the deaths of four people. US officials said Israel neither informed nor consulted Washington ahead of the operation, a move that further aggravated tensions.
The unusually harsh message from the White House comes amid growing friction between the Trump administration and Netanyahu’s government over the next phase of the Gaza agreement and over Israel’s broader regional policy. The second phase of the deal would require a deeper withdrawal of Israeli forces, a step US officials believe Netanyahu has been reluctant to embrace.
The White House reportedly views Netanyahu as short-sighted on several key issues, particularly when it comes to advancing the ceasefire into a more durable peace arrangement. In a recent phone call, President Trump told Netanyahu that he needed to be “a better partner” on Gaza.
Washington’s longer-term objective, according to US officials, is to move beyond the Gaza war toward repairing Israel’s relations with Arab states and expanding the Abraham Accords. However, regional leaders are said to harbor deep mistrust toward Netanyahu and to have broad reservations about engaging with him diplomatically.
One example cited by US officials was an American attempt to help arrange a meeting between Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, which reportedly met with strong resistance from Cairo. Netanyahu and Sisi have not spoken since the start of the Gaza war.
A senior US official said Netanyahu has increasingly become an international outcast over the past two years and should reflect on why Sisi refuses to meet him and why he has not been invited to visit the United Arab Emirates in the five years since the Abraham Accords were signed.
According to the official, the Trump administration is making intensive efforts to stabilize the situation and revive regional diplomacy. But if Netanyahu is unwilling to take concrete steps to reduce tensions, Washington will not expend political capital trying to expand the Abraham Accords while Israeli leadership remains resistant to compromise.
Netanyahu is expected to meet President Trump at Mar-a-Lago on December 29, a meeting likely to test the strained relationship and clarify whether the Gaza ceasefire can survive the mounting political and military pressures surrounding it.
