The “fragile” ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains in danger as new violence in Gaza threatens to derail U.S.-backed efforts to hold the peace, Matthew Whitaker, U.S. ambassador to NATO, told Newsmax on Tuesday.
“Obviously, this is phase one, and this is going to be probably the easiest part of it,” Whitaker said on Newsmax’s “Newsline.” “This peace deal has always been tough; it’s been going on for centuries, these disputes and this animosity.”
“The administration continues to rely on a coalition of Gulf and regional partners committed to maintaining calm,” he added.
“We put together a great coalition of a lot of the Gulf and regional partners, many Muslim countries that are committed to peace as well,” Whitaker said.
“Hamas is the problem. The people of Gaza obviously want peace. They’ve lived for too long under war.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he has ordered the army to carry out “powerful strikes” in Gaza, a new test for the U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
The order followed reports that Hamas opened fire on Israeli forces in southern Gaza in an escalation that Israeli officials called a clear violation of the truce.
Tensions had already risen after Hamas returned a set of remains that Israel said did not belong to the hostage it expected, which Netanyahu described as another breach of the ceasefire terms requiring all hostage remains to be returned promptly.
Israeli media said possible responses under consideration included halting humanitarian aid, expanding Israeli control in Gaza or targeting Hamas leaders with airstrikes.
In Rafah on Tuesday, Israeli troops came under fire and returned fire, according to the Israeli military.
Thirteen bodies of Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, and Hamas said Tuesday it has recovered one more body it plans to hand over Tuesday evening.
Whitaker said the administration will continue to engage with allies to keep the ceasefire intact while pursuing broader security goals through NATO and other partnerships.
“We’re partnering with them to grow their defense industrial bases — to build ships and submarines and weapons and ammunition,” he said. “That’s making the United States stronger, but it’s also making our allies and our alliances stronger.”
Whitaker also cited ongoing concerns about China’s role in producing fentanyl precursor chemicals and its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“What we ended was the production of fentanyl in China. It moved to Mexico, but the precursor chemicals are continuing to be made in China and exported mostly to Mexico,” he said. “This is something President Xi [Jinping] could clearly fix if he wanted to.”
He added that Beijing’s trade and technology support for Moscow has prolonged the conflict in Ukraine.
“If it wasn’t for China buying their oil and providing dual-use technologies and drone parts and components and chips, Russia could not sustain this war,” he said.
He added that President Donald Trump’s tariff playbook would yield substantial results — key to China, Russia, and the United States.
Whitaker said that despite the tensions, trade and agricultural talks remain a key focus of the Trump administration’s engagement with Beijing.
“If there’s a deal to be had with President Xi where we can normalize relationships between the countries, address our strategic interests, and most importantly put the American people first and the American farmers, I’m expecting big news on soybeans,” he said.
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