President Trump insists cease-fire is holding in Gaza as Kushner and Witkoff slap down genocide accusations

WASHINGTON — President Trump insisted that the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip is “still in place” despite accusations from Hamas and Israel that each side has violated the truce.

“We wanna make sure that it’s going to be very peaceful with Hamas, and as you know, they’ve been quite rambunctious,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening.

“They’ve been doing some shooting and we think maybe the leadership isn’t involved in that. Some rebels within, but either way, it’s going to be handled properly.”

A gruesome video circulated last week showing Hamas carrying out brutal executions of Palestinians, not long after the peace agreement between the two sides was enshrined during a summit in Egypt.

Hamas appeared to slaughter those believed to have been “collaborators with Israel” — a barbaric move that triggered threats from Trump to “go in and kill” Hamas terrorists.

Over the weekend, Israel launched a series of strikes in Gaza against Hamas targets after accusing the terror group of killing two of its soldiers during attacks in the Palestinian enclave’s southern city of Rafah.

The fragile cease-fire between the two sides took effect on Oct. 10 and Hamas freed the last 20 living Israeli hostages three days later as part of a broader exchange for Israel’s Palestinian prisoners — including Hamas leaders and many convicted of terrorism-related crimes.

Trump had taken a victory lap over the breakthrough in the Middle East, touting his ability to end wars.

Following its weekend strikes, the Israel Defense Forces declared Sunday that it began a “renewed enforcement of the cease-fire,” giving observers hope the delicate deal can last.

“I’d have to get back to you on that,” Trump told reporters when pressed on whether Israel’s strikes were warranted, noting that it was “under review.”

Trump said that the matter was “going to be handled toughly, but properly.”

Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have since trekked over to Israel to ensure the cease-fire remains intact after weathering several tests.

Vice President JD Vance is expected to arrive in the Jewish state on Tuesday.

Witkoff and Kushner, who played an instrumental role in brokering the cease-fire between Israel and Gaza gave a lengthy interview to CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” during which both shrugged off accusations that the Jewish state was committing a genocide.

“No, no,” Kushner quickly hit back when asked about the death toll in Gaza that had followed Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 massacre.

“Absolutely not. No,” Witkoff also shot back. “No, there was a war being fought.”

More than 60,000 Palestinians have perished in Gaza, according to the region’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health, though the IDF as of August indicated that at least 47,653 have been active in the terror group’s military wing or that of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

During the interview, Kushner took note of the absolute devastation in the Palestinian enclave he observed from his visit to the war-torn Gaza Strip after the cease-fire deal had been inked.

“It looked almost like a nuclear bomb had been set off in that area,” Kushner observed. “And then you see these people moving back, and I asked the IDF ‘Where are they going?’

“Like, I’m looking around, these are all ruins. And they said ‘Well, they’re going back to the areas where their destroyed home was, onto their plot, and they’re going to pitch a tent,’” he continued.

“It’s very sad, because you think to yourself: they really have nowhere else to go.”