LEILA FADEL, HOST:
For a number of hours this weekend, the Gaza ceasefire was anything but that.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Israel blamed Hamas for an attack and launched an assault on Gaza. Each side is accusing the other of violating the truce that was brokered by the United States.
FADEL: NPR's Rob Schmitz joins us now from Tel Aviv to talk about all this. Good morning, Rob.
ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: Morning, Leila.
FADEL: OK. So this doesn't exactly sound like a ceasefire if both sides seem to be firing. What do we know about what Israel says prompted the airstrikes?
SCHMITZ: Yeah. Officials from Israel's military say their soldiers who are working in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, which remains under Israeli control, came under rocket propelled grenade and gunfire attack by Hamas militants. Israel says two of its soldiers were killed in that attack. In a statement, Hamas said it was unaware of this attack, saying it had lost contact with its fighters there months ago. And President Trump now says it appeared to be a rebel group inside of Hamas that did this. Israel responded by launching dozens of missile attacks throughout the day yesterday on what it called Hamas targets in various parts of the Gaza Strip. Gaza health officials have just updated the death toll to at least 46 Palestinians who were killed in those attacks yesterday.
FADEL: OK. So this comes a week after President Trump visited the region to celebrate this...
SCHMITZ: Right.
FADEL: ...Ceasefire that he basically brokered. But is that ceasefire just now unraveling if both sides appear to be attacking each other?
SCHMITZ: Yeah. I mean, it's clear yesterday's events mark the most serious threat to this ceasefire since it was signed a week ago, and it shows kind of how jittery both sides are in the wake of this war. Nadav Shoshani, spokesman for Israel's military, said this about what this means for the ceasefire agreement.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
NADAV SHOSHANI: We are not eager to fight, but we are eager to make sure that our people are safe, that our troops are safe and that this agreement is kept. And it is a mutual agreement. Like any agreement, it needs to be held by Hamas. They need to do their part of the agreement.
FADEL: And what has Hamas said about this?
SCHMITZ: Yeah. In a lengthy statement, Hamas said it was Israel that had violated the ceasefire agreement, since what it says was the first day of the ceasefire saying that Israel has committed numerous violations of the agreement, including shooting civilians in Gaza after the deal was signed and crossing the so-called yellow line behind which Israeli soldiers were supposed to fall back to. But what's interesting here is that both sides, Hamas and Israel are saying that, despite what's happened, they're still committed to the spirit of the ceasefire.
FADEL: OK. And this brings us to a delegation of visitors arriving today from the Trump White House who hope to get things back on track. Who's heading there?
SCHMITZ: Yeah. So U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived already today. Vice President JD Vance is expected to arrive in Israel tomorrow to try to get this ceasefire agreement and peace process back on track. Witkoff will try to facilitate the return of the remaining deceased Israeli hostages. This is an important part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement because Israel has threatened to withhold aid to Gaza until all those bodies are returned.
And it's worth pointing out here that when you have a day like yesterday full of air attacks, that tends to put a stop to the flow of aid into Gaza anyway. Now, Vice President Vance plans to speak with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the next phase of this ceasefire plan, but, you know, first things first, they'll need to ensure that these attacks stop before they can carry out these next steps.
FADEL: That's NPR's Rob Schmitz in Tel Aviv. Thank you, Rob.
SCHMITZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
