Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

[SvennoJ]

Trump claims ‘war in Gaza is over’ despite continued violations

The US president has been praising the “ceasefire” deal that went into effect in October, claiming the “war in Gaza is over”.

The statement comes amid near-daily Israeli violations, which have killed more than 600 Palestinians since the agreement went into effect. Experts have said ending those violations will be key to any progress the Board of Peace can make.

Trump referred to the ongoing violence as “little flames”. He added he believes Hamas will “give up their weapons”, referring to the disarmament that remains a key sticking point between Hamas and Israel.

“If they don’t, it’ll be, you know, they’ll be harshly met,” Trump said. He added, “You’ve got to give [Hamas] credit” for locating and returning all the bodies of Israeli captives in Gaza.

Palestinian Resistance REJECTS US-Israeli Demands For Gaza Disarmament

Drop Site’s Jeremy Scahill highlighted his new exclusive report with colleague Jawa Ahmad, featuring remarks from senior Hamas official Basem Naim, whom they interviewed about the latest U.S. and Israeli demands for disarmament.

Trump and Netanyahu are now demanding full demilitarization, with Netanyahu threatening a return to “full scale war” if even rifles remain.

Naim told Drop Site the resistance’s position is unchanged: no unilateral disarmament, and no demilitarization outside a political process that leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state and a national armed force capable of defending it.

Scahill also detailed the “pervasive lie” espoused by many Western officials and media outlets that Hamas agreed to Trump’s sweeping 20-point plan or to demilitarize. He noted that Hamas and Islamic Jihad only signed a narrow October agreement covering a captive exchange, cessation of fire agreement, limited Israeli withdrawal, and the resumption of life essentials into Gaza.