Military Clashes in Gaza Challenge the Ceasefire Terms | The American Spectator

U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday, October 22, and held a press conference at the new international Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in the southern city of Kiryat Gat. Vance reiterated the White House’s commitment to the current ceasefire framework and outlined a three-step plan to recover the remains of hostages still in Gaza, the creation of an international stabilizing force, and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Within the concrete walls of the CMCC’s industrial complex, military personnel from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Jordan, and the UAE work in coordination with Israel to implement this mission under the direction of Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, and the military oversight of U.S. Central Command Chief Admiral Brad Cooper. (RELATED: Trump in Jerusalem)

The foreign military presence in Kiryat Gat is by Israel’s invitation. During a later meeting in Jerusalem, Vance emphasized that no foreign military will be forced on Israel against its will, and, contrary to circulating headlines, Israel is by no means a “client state” of the U.S. while implementing President Donald Trump’s peace plan. (RELATED: The Trump Peace Plan: Promise, Pause, or Illusion)

The optimistic foresight over the CMCC’s three-step plan, however, ignores the fact that in just over one week, Hamas has repeatedly violated the ceasefire terms, and Israel alone seems to be the only party taking corrective measures beyond floating a “tough talk” rhetoric. (RELATED: Surprise! Hamas Has Already Doomed Peace)

On Tuesday, Trump urged Israel to refrain from using “heavy force” on Hamas in the hope that the terrorist group “will do what is right,” meaning, abide by the ceasefire terms they’ve signed. “If they do not, an end to Hamas will be FAST, FURIOUS, & BRUTAL.”

While banners thanking Trump for brokering the hostage release deal last week still flutter from Jerusalem high-rises, the saying “Trump blathers” has gained new credence in Israel as many have lost faith in Trump’s “tough talk” rhetoric over Hamas, having seen little to no action backing up his promises to “unleash hell” on or “destroy” the terrorist group. So far, Israel — the only member of the CMCC coalition with real skin in the game — has been the only regional player risking everything to keep terrorist violations from Gaza to Beirut at bay.

Although the 20 living hostages were returned to Israel on Oct. 10, Hamas has blatantly failed to uphold the other stipulations required of them in “Phase One” of Trump’s peace plan. Israel is still waiting to receive the remains of thirteen dead hostages still in Gaza and claims that Hamas is intentionally withholding them for negotiating leverage. (RELATED: The Failing Cease-Fire)

Hamas has also blatantly refused to disarm. Although this was never stipulated in the “Phase One” hostage exchange, it is the singular hurdle preventing the rest of Trump’s peace plan from moving forward. Since the ceasefire last week, Hamas has been systematically eliminating potential political and military opposition among the Palestinian population in Gaza through barbaric street executions that have passed largely unreported in world headlines.

Fatal clashes also broke out between the terrorist group and the Israel Defense Force (IDF) over the weekend. IDF forces operating east of the Yellow Line, as per the ceasefire deal, came under RPG fire and sniper attacks from several terrorists who emerged from a tunnel. Similar clashes were reported east of Rafah and in Khan Younis and Nuseirat. Israel responded with extensive airstrikes and artillery shelling to destroy the tunnel openings and buildings where terrorists were located. In one video released by the IDF, several armed terrorists were eliminated by an IDF drone as they crossed the Yellow Line and advanced towards IDF troops near Beit Lahiya. Over 20 Hamas targets were hit by the IDF on Sunday afternoon.

Hamas denied any involvement. “We have no connection to any events taking place in those areas and cannot communicate with any of our fighters there,” the group’s military wing stated.

Hamas’s blatant violations of last week’s ceasefire-hostage exchange stem from the fact that the group’s leadership does not look at Trump’s peace plan as a comprehensive package but as separate, disconnected agreements. For Hamas, the exchange of 20 living Israeli hostages for over 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners last week was not contingent on any other points in Trump’s plan — especially the point to give up its political and military authority. Hamas is strategically violating the ceasefire terms to prolong the peace process and retain as much power and leverage to ensure a place at the negotiating table for Gaza’s future.

Although Trump’s gracious hand of leniency — hoping that Hamas “will do what is right” — is admirable, it also costs lives, especially when there is a lack of understanding of who your enemy is. The regime in Tehran and the terrorist organizations in Lebanon, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Yemen have no intention of playing by the rules, even when they have given their word or signed on the dotted line of a ceasefire deal.

This was first witnessed last June. Two hours after Trump had announced the ceasefire ending the so-called 12-Day War, Iran violated the terms by launching a massive missile barrage against Israel that killed a family in the southern city of Be’er Sheva. The belligerents in Tehran received no retribution, and it was Netanyahu whom Trump berated for jeopardizing the ceasefire by launching a counterstrike.

According to Itamar Eichner at Ynet, “The Americans, now firmly in charge [in Kiryat Gat], want to know everything happening in Gaza … with their own intelligence network, they often instruct IDF to cancel operations they view as endangering the cease-fire.”

Two IDF soldiers were killed over the weekend as a result of Hamas’s ceasefire violations.

The CMCC team and their American leaders need to come to grips with the fact that the only endangerment to the ceasefire is players who blatantly violate and reject the terms, not those who risk their lives to enforce them. Otherwise, CMCC runs the risk of becoming another UNIFIL and UNWRA — an international observation coalition that remains on the sidelines when action against terrorism is needed and makes allowances for treaty violations.

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