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A day after conducting airstrikes in Gaza killing over 100 people, the Israeli military on Wednesday said it will abide by the ceasefire deal. Israel on late Tuesday launched airstrikes in Gaza, saying it was in response to an attack by Palestinian militants that killed one of their soldiers who were stationed within the “yellow line”. The “yellow line” is the boundary along the north, south and east of Gaza that Israel withdrew to, as part of the first stage of the ceasefire deal. Reuters quoted the Israeli military as saying that it would continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and would respond firmly to “any violation”. Earlier, US President Donald Trump backed Israeli attack, saying they have the full right to respond to any violations and added that if Hamas does not “behave”, it will be “eradicated”. “As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back,” he added. “Nothing is going to jeopardise” the ceasefire, Trump said. “You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave.” However, Hamas has denied any responsibility for the attack on the Israeli forces in Rafah and reiterated its commitment to abide by the truce, which came into effect after two years- of war on October 10. According to the Gaza health ministry, 104 people, including 46 children and 20 women, were killed in the Wednesday’s attack. Meanwhile, Reuters quoted some displaced Palestinians raising concerns that the ceasefire deal was falling apart. “It was one of the worst nights since the ceasefire was signed. The sounds of explosions and planes made us feel as if war had started again,” Ismail Zayda, who lives in tents in western Gaza City with his 25-member family, told Reuters via a chat app.
