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U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel has the right to respond to attacks by Hamas and defended recent Israeli strikes as legitimate retaliation, adding that such actions should not endanger the ceasefire, Reuters reports.
“As I understand it, they killed an Israeli soldier. So the Israelis struck back, and they should strike back. When that happens — they must respond… Nobody knows what happened to the Israeli soldier, but they say it was sniper fire. It was retaliation for that, and I think they have the right to do it,” Trump said.
He added that nothing should jeopardize the ceasefire: “You have to understand that Hamas is a very small part of the world in the Middle East, and they must behave properly… If they (Hamas) are good, they will be fine, and if they are bad, they will be destroyed.”
Gaza health authorities reported that at least 26 people were killed in the strikes.
