Baghdad: US President Donald Trump claimed that Israel’s resumption of attacks on Gaza since yesterday, Tuesday, will not jeopardize the ceasefire. Speaking to reporters today, Wednesday, he said: “Nothing will be jeopardized. You have to understand that Hamas is a very small part of the peace process in the Middle East, and they have to remain calm.”

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Trump added, “Hamas is a very tough group, but they said they would behave well. If they do, they will be happy. If they don’t, they will be wiped out and eliminated.” Trump described the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a “very big peace deal,” and that Hamas had begun handing over its weapons because the agreement had entered its second phase.

On Tuesday evening, the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority claimed that “militants (whose identities were not specified) fired anti-tank missiles and sniper fire” at Israeli soldiers in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the Israeli newspaper “Maariv” (private) claimed that the past few hours witnessed intense exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and elements of the Hamas movement in the al-Jneina neighborhood east of Rafah.

Later, according to a statement issued by his office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army to launch “immediate and powerful attacks on the Gaza Strip.” Hamas, in a statement, denied any involvement in the shooting in Rafah and affirmed its commitment to the ceasefire agreement. It stated that the Israeli shelling was a blatant violation of the agreement and “confirms the insistence on violating its terms and attempting to sabotage it.”

Hamas called on the mediators guaranteeing the agreement to “act immediately to pressure the occupation, curb its brutal escalation against civilians in the Gaza Strip, stop its serious violations of the ceasefire agreement, and compel it to abide by all its provisions.”