Israeli official: Jerusalem informed Trump administration ahead of strikes in Gaza

Israel informed the administration of US President Donald Trump of its decision to carry out airstrikes in Gaza City after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already ordered the operation in response to Hamas violations of the ceasefire, the Prime Minister’s Office told The Times of Israel.

“The prime minister made the decision to carry out the strike, gave the order to the military to execute it, and afterwards informed the United States,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

According to both a US official and an Israeli official cited by The Times of Israel, Jerusalem updated Washington after the decision had been made but before the strikes took place.

“We were informed,” a Trump administration official confirmed, adding that communication between the two governments was facilitated through the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Centre in Kiryat Gat, which oversees the ceasefire and monitors the progress of Washington’s Gaza peace plan.

An Israeli official likewise confirmed that “there were talks with the Americans” about Israel’s planned response prior to the strikes. The officials noted that the discussions occurred on both the political and military levels.

Netanyahu’s decision followed escalating tensions after Israel reported that Hamas had fired on its forces in southern Gaza and returned a set of remains that Israel said belonged to a hostage recovered earlier in the war. The prime minister described Hamas’s action as a “clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement, which requires the group to return all Israeli hostage remains without delay.

In another sign of the ceasefire’s fragility, Israeli troops came under fire in the southern city of Rafah on October 28 and returned fire, an Israeli military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as no official statement had yet been released.

Despite multiple incidents of violence, the ceasefire that began on October 10 has largely held. On October 19, Israel reported that two of its soldiers had been killed by Hamas fire, prompting retaliatory strikes that killed more than 40 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. Over the weekend, Israel conducted another airstrike targeting what it said were Islamic Jihad militants preparing an attack, injuring several people.

Thirteen bodies of hostages remain in Gaza, according to Israeli officials. Hamas announced on Tuesday that it had recovered one of the bodies, but after Israel declared its intention to strike Gaza, the group said it would delay the handover.

The slow and often contentious process of returning the hostages’ remains has become a major obstacle to advancing the next phases of the ceasefire, which include addressing more complex issues such as the disarmament of Hamas, the possible deployment of an international security force in Gaza, and determining the future governance of the territory.

Hamas has claimed it is struggling to locate the bodies due to the extensive destruction in Gaza, while Israel has accused the group of deliberately stalling the process. Over the weekend, Egypt sent a team of experts and heavy machinery to assist in locating the remaining bodies, with search operations continuing on Tuesday in Khan Younis and Nuseirat.

This marks the second time since the ceasefire began that the return of remains has caused controversy. Earlier in the truce, Israel said that one of the bodies handed over by Hamas turned out to be that of an unidentified Palestinian rather than an Israeli hostage.