Trump says Israel-Hamas ceasefire still in place after deadly Gaza strikes

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the ceasefire he helped broker between Israel and Hamas was still in effect, after the Israeli military carried out dozens of strikes on Gaza over apparent truce violations by the Palestinian militant group.

"Yeah, it is," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked if the ceasefire was still in place. He also suggested that Hamas leadership was not involved in any alleged breaches and instead blamed "some rebels within."

"But either way, it's going to be handled properly. It's going to be handled toughly, but properly," Trump added.

The Israeli military said on Sunday a ceasefire in Gaza had resumed after an attack killed two of its soldiers and prompted a wave of airstrikes that Palestinians said killed 26 people, in the most serious test yet of this month's US-brokered truce.

The armed wing of Hamas said it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement, was unaware of clashes in Rafah, and had not been in contact with groups there since March.

US Vice President JD Vance did not mention the Israeli strikes when speaking to reporters, but said there were about 40 different cells of Hamas and no security infrastructure yet in place to confirm their disarmament.

"Some of those cells will probably honor the ceasefire. Many of those cells, as we saw some evidence of today, will not," he said.

"Before we actually can ensure that Hamas is properly disarmed, that's going to require ... some of these Gulf Arab states, to get forces in there, to actually apply some law and order and security keeping on the ground."