President Trump has done plenty during his time in office. But the crown jewel could be snatched from under him.
And now Trump’s face went white after his greatest achievement was thrown into question.
Netanyahu’s Strikes Shatter Fragile Gaza Ceasefire, Sparking Fears of Endless Conflict
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s abrupt order for “powerful” military strikes on Gaza on October 28, 2025, has plunged the U.S.-brokered truce with Hamas into peril, with early reports of civilian casualties underscoring the devastating human cost of renewed violence. Just weeks after the October 10 ceasefire—hailed as a hard-won pause in a war that’s claimed over 68,000 Palestinian lives and left thousands buried under rubble—the escalation risks dragging the region back into a cycle of destruction that spares no one. As explosions lit up Gaza’s night sky, witnesses and health officials decried the strikes as a reckless gamble that endangers fragile peace efforts and amplifies the suffering of innocents caught in the crossfire.
“Following security consultations, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the military echelon to carry out powerful strikes in the Gaza Strip immediately,” Netanyahu’s office stated on X, framing the assault as retaliation for alleged Hamas breaches.
Civilian Toll Mounts as Airstrikes Hit Residential Areas and Hospitals
The barrage began swiftly, with Gaza’s health ministry reporting at least 104 deaths on October 29—the deadliest day since the truce took hold—including dozens of children amid strikes on homes and infrastructure.
Reuters detailed initial impacts: At least two killed and four wounded in a residential building in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, while another blast struck near Shifa Hospital, the enclave’s largest functioning medical facility in the north, endangering patients and staff already strained by two years of bombardment. Rescue teams sifted through rubble in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, pulling survivors from tent camps as the Palestinian Red Crescent shared harrowing videos of families fleeing chaos.
The trigger: Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of violating the deal by returning partial remains of an Israeli hostage “recovered in a military operation about 2 years ago,” calling it a “clear violation.”
Earlier clashes in southern Rafah saw Israeli forces exchange fire with militants—killing one soldier and wounding another—though Hamas denied involvement, insisting it honors the truce. Under the fragile agreement, Hamas was to release all living hostages (completed with the final 20 earlier this month) and remains of the deceased, in exchange for phased Israeli withdrawals and Palestinian prisoner releases—a process now stalled by mutual recriminations and internal Gaza violence.
Trump’s Frustrated Diplomacy Tested by Netanyahu’s Defiance
President Donald Trump, architect of the ceasefire, has watched the unraveling with mounting exasperation, urging restraint even as he defends Israel’s right to respond. On October 25, he warned on Truth Social: “Let’s see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely.”
En route from Tokyo to Seoul, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that “nothing’s going to jeopardize” the deal but added Israel “should hit back” if soldiers are killed— a measured tone that belies deeper concerns about escalation.
In a recent Time magazine interview, Trump revealed he’d reined in Netanyahu: “I said to Bibi, ‘Bibi, you can’t fight the world. You can fight individual battles, but the world’s against you.’ And Israel is a very small place compared to the world… I stopped him, because he would have just kept going. It could have gone on for years.”
Vice President JD Vance echoed this, slamming Israel’s recent Knesset vote to annex the West Bank as personally insulting and a source of administration dismay. With U.S. officials establishing a command center in Israel for “Bibisitting” oversight, the strikes test Trump’s peacemaking legacy, as Hamas postponed a hostage remains handover citing Israeli “violations.”
As Gaza’s death toll climbs and aid restrictions bite—exacerbating famine risks for 2.3 million trapped residents—the international community, from Turkey’s foreign ministry decrying a “flagrant violation” to UN pleas for de-escalation, warns that Netanyahu’s moves court a broader war no one can afford.
In a region scarred by endless conflict, these strikes serve as a grim reminder that fragile truces demand dialogue over devastation, lest more lives—Israeli and Palestinian alike—pay the ultimate price.
