The Trump administration expects Tel Aviv to notify Washington if it plans to bomb Gaza again. On Sunday, Israel broke the ceasefire with dozens of strikes on Gaza. President Donald Trump has sent several top officials to Israel to keep the ceasefire from falling apart.
Haaretz reports that Israeli defense officials say the demand from Washington does not amount to Tel Aviv needing US approval to strike Gaza. However, American officials made it clear that it does not want Israel to violate the ceasefire again.
Israel has killed Palestinians nearly every day since the ceasefire went into effect, mostly with snipers shooting civilians who move too close to the yellow line. The yellow line is the area of Gaza that Israel agreed to withdraw to under the ceasefire agreement.
American officials made clear Israel can continue to shoot and kill Palestinians, but needs to inform Washington if it’s going to conduct airstrikes.
Israel officials told Haaretz that they “have the impression that American scrutiny of Israel has reached a point that usurps Israel’s military and diplomatic power. They added, “Netanyahu continues to deny this new reality because it contradicts his attempts to create a narrative of victory in the war, at least in the eyes of his political supporters.”
The message was conveyed to Tel Aviv after it bombarded Gaza earlier this week, killing dozens of Palestinians, including children and journalists. Israel claimed the bombing was a response to a Hamas attack. US officials leaked to the press that Washington knew Tel Aviv was lying and told Israel to stop the attacks.
According to Haaretz, Trump is now sending a stream of high-level officials to Israel to prevent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from breaking the ceasefire, a practice dubbed “Bibi-sitting.” Vice President JC Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have all visited Israel.
