U.S. Tries To Shore Up Gaza Truce After Weekend Of Increased Violence

CAIRO/JERUSALEM, Oct 20 (Reuters) – U.S. envoys met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to put Israel and Hamas under siege in a bid to get the Gaza ceasefire plan back on track after an outbreak of violence at the weekend threatened to disrupt a week-long truce.

Israel and Hamas have recommitted to a ceasefire plan imposed by US President Donald Trump since Sunday’s flare-up between a Palestinian attack that killed two soldiers and an Israeli bombardment that killed at least 28 people in Gaza.

But it remains to be seen whether the United States can keep up the pressure on the two sides and maintain momentum to end the conflict, even as the early stages of the ceasefire are rocked by repeated violence, including on Monday.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to strengthen the ceasefire during their visit and then begin talks on the next, more difficult phase of the 20-step plan.

US Vice President JD Vance was also due to visit Israel on Tuesday, and Netanyahu said the two would discuss regional challenges and opportunities.

Top US diplomacy in the region, along with talks with Hamas in Egypt later Monday, underscore the importance of strengthening the ceasefire for Trump, who last week declared the “historic dawn of a new Middle East”.

On Monday, Palestinian medics said three more people were killed by gunfire from Israeli tanks near the “yellow line” separating Israel’s military withdrawal from Gaza from the main populated areas. The Israeli army said its forces opened fire on militants who crossed this line.

Residents of Gaza City said they were confused about the line, saying electronic maps were available but physical signs had not yet been created along most of the route.

“The whole area is in ruins. We have seen the maps, but we do not know where these lines are,” said Samir, 50, who lives in Tuffah.

Israel’s defense minister released a video on Monday showing bulldozers pulling yellow blocks into place to mark the line.

Witkoff and Kushner’s visit to Israel, aimed at discussions on the next phase of Trump’s complex ceasefire plan, was planned before violence flared on Sunday, according to US and Israeli sources.

Trump said the ceasefire he brokered was still in effect. He said the Hamas leadership may not have been involved in the violations. “We think the leadership was not involved in this,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. Israel is unlikely to announce any progress in talks until the remains of more hostages are returned and believes Hamas could hand over six more of the 16 bodies still in Gaza. Other bodies may be difficult to recover due to the destruction in the area.

Hamas said it would hand over the body of another hostage later Monday.

Egypt will host talks in Cairo on Monday with Hamas’ exiled Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya on ways to follow up on implementing the ceasefire, the group said in a statement.

A Palestinian official close to the talks said the group’s delegation would discuss ways to advance the formation of a technocratic body that would govern Gaza without Hamas representation.

Hamas and other allied groups reject any foreign rule of Gaza as envisioned in the Trump plan and have so far resisted calls to lay down arms that could complicate implementation of the deal.

Both Israel and Hamas said they remained committed to the ceasefire following Sunday’s violence.

Israel said it launched attacks across the enclave in response to a Palestinian attack that killed two soldiers serving on the agreed deployment line in Rafah, south of Gaza.

“Israel will not accept any violation of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” an Israeli government spokesman said on Monday, repeating that Hamas could have no role in Gaza in the future and would be disarmed.

Rejecting its commitment to disarmament within the scope of the plan, Hamas’s armed wing said that it was not aware of the clashes in Rafah and had not been in contact with the groups there since March.

Hamas detailed a series of violations by Israel that it said killed 46 people and prevented essential supplies from reaching the region.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that all Hamas militants in areas still under Israeli control in Gaza must leave the area immediately and that anyone outside the yellow line will be targeted without any warning.

Despite threats to cut off supplies from Gaza due to the brief breakdown of the ceasefire, an Israeli security official said aid convoys would continue to enter the area.

With the ceasefire still uncertain, Gaza residents fear increased violence.

“I felt my heart drop to the ground, I felt the ceasefire collapse,” said Gazan businessman Abu Abdullah, who was displaced from the center of the Gaza Strip.

“What happened yesterday has made people crazy to buy food, greedy traders have increased prices. The deal looks very fragile,” he told Reuters via a chat app.