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The White House sent a stern private message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that the killing of a senior Hamas military commander over the weekend constituted a violation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement brokered by President Donald Trump, according to two U.S. officials, Axios reported.
The message came amid rising tensions between the Trump administration and the Netanyahu government over the next phase of the Gaza agreement and Israel’s broader regional policies.
On Saturday, Israel carried out an airstrike in Gaza City that killed Raed Saad, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing and one of the alleged planners of the Oct. 7 attacks.
The strike killed four people in total.
U.S. officials said the Israeli government did not notify or consult Washington ahead of the attack.
Trump said Monday that the U.S. is “looking into” whether Israel violated the ceasefire, while also stressing that his relations with Netanyahu remain good.
Netanyahu is expected to meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Dec. 29.
According to a senior U.S. official, the White House told Netanyahu that the strike undermined the ceasefire and risked damaging Trump’s credibility as the deal’s broker.
“If you want to ruin your reputation and show that you don't abide by agreements, be our guest, but we won't allow you to ruin President Trump's reputation after he brokered the deal in Gaza,” the official said.
An Israeli official confirmed that Washington was unhappy but said the message was milder, claiming the issue was that “certain Arab countries” viewed the strike as a violation.
U.S. officials said the White House was unequivocal that Israel had breached the agreement.
The Israeli government told the Trump administration that Hamas had violated the ceasefire first by attacking Israeli soldiers and resuming weapons smuggling, according to an Israeli official.
“The killing of Raed Saad, an arch-terrorist who worked day in and day out to violate the agreement and renew the fighting, was carried out in response to these violations and was intended to ensure the continuation of the ceasefire,” the official said.
The White House and the Israeli Embassy in Washington declined to comment.
The dispute is the latest in a series of flare-ups between Washington and Netanyahu’s government.
U.S. officials said the Trump administration believes Israeli cross-border strikes in Syria are undermining U.S. efforts to help the Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa government stabilize the country and complicating attempts to reach a new security arrangement between Israel and Syria.
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack was scheduled to visit Israel on Monday for talks with Netanyahu on the issue.
In the West Bank, U.S. officials have voiced increasing concern over settler violence against Palestinians, which they say harms efforts to expand the Abraham Accords, particularly with Saudi Arabia.
U.S. officials said Netanyahu has been warned that moving to the second phase of the Gaza agreement, which requires further Israeli troop withdrawals, is critical.
Trump told Netanyahu in a recent phone call that he needs to be a “better partner” on Gaza, according to US officials.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser Jared Kushner have grown increasingly frustrated with Israeli inflexibility on Gaza-related issues, officials said.
The White House aims to move beyond the Gaza war toward repairing Israel’s ties with Arab states and expanding the Abraham Accords.
U.S. officials said many regional leaders remain deeply distrustful of Netanyahu.
Efforts to arrange a meeting between Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi have faced strong resistance, and the two leaders have not spoken since the Gaza war began.
“If Netanyahu doesn't want to take the steps that are needed to de-escalate, we are not going to waste our time on trying to expand the Abraham Accords,” a U.S. official said.
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