US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a US-backed ceasefire in Gaza was not at risk after Israel launched airstrikes in the enclave, which killed 26 people in response to the killing of an Israeli soldier.
Israeli planes struck in Gaza on Tuesday after Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire, the latest violence in the three-week-old deal brokered by Trump.
Gazan health authorities said the strikes killed at least 26 people, including five in a house hit in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, four in a building in Gaza City's Sabra neighbourhood, and five in a car in Khan Younis.
"As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back," he added.
The Israeli military confirmed the soldier's death on Wednesday.
"Nothing is going to jeopardise" the ceasefire, Trump said. "You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave."
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes, which followed a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office saying he had ordered immediate "powerful attacks".
An Israeli military official said Hamas had violated the ceasefire by carrying out an attack against Israeli forces who were stationed within the so-called 'yellow line', the deployment line agreed upon in the ceasefire.
The US-backed ceasefire agreement went into effect on October 10, halting two years of war triggered by deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Both sides have accused each other of ceasefire violations.
"If they (Hamas) are good, they are going to be happy and if they are not good, they are going to be terminated, their lives will be terminated," Trump said. "Nobody knows what happened to the Israeli soldier but they say it was sniper fire. And it was retribution for that, and I think they have a right to do that."
Hamas denied responsibility for the attack on Israeli forces in Rafah, in southern Gaza and said in a statement that it remained committed to the ceasefire deal.
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