Israel’s government announced on December 24, 2025, that an explosive device detonated in Rafah wounded an Israeli military officer, and officials accused Hamas of violating the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. This isn’t a minor scuffle — it’s a direct challenge to the fragile order that the Trump administration’s 20-point peace framework seeks to enforce, and it demands a firm American response.
The Trump peace plan depends on a phased roadmap that envisions disarmament and demilitarization of Hamas as essential preconditions for lasting stability, but every reported violation chips away at that fragile architecture. If militant groups are allowed to test the truce with impunity, the entire phased approach collapses and the diplomatic gains painstakingly brokered by the U.S. evaporate.
Hamas predictably denied responsibility, blaming unexploded ordnance and accusing Israel of propaganda — the same playbook we’ve seen repeatedly. Those denials do not erase the pattern of violence that has kept Gaza a breeding ground for terror; words from Hamas cannot be the final word when American and Israeli lives are on the line.
As Fox’s Trey Yingst noted, “things often go wrong” in the days after a truce is declared, but “going wrong” shouldn’t mean tolerating armed actors who refuse to disarm. Conservatives must call this what it is: an effort by militant extremists to sabotage a peace process crafted by a U.S. president determined to secure the region — and America should not reward bad-faith actors with patience and praise.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has warned Israel will respond to any breach, and that stance is not only justified but necessary to protect Israeli citizens and enforce the deal’s terms. If the United States wants its strategy to succeed, it must back Israel’s right to act decisively against violators and ensure that disarmament is not just a line on paper but an on-the-ground reality.
Washington now faces a test of resolve: either double down on the Trump plan’s tough conditions and demand immediate accountability, or watch the initiative unravel as militants resume the same cycle of violence. Patriotically, we should insist the U.S. stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel, press regional players to clamp down on proxies, and make clear that appeasement will not be tolerated.
Americans who love freedom and order should be loud in defending a peace plan that seeks to disarm terrorists rather than empower them, because real peace requires strength, not surrender. It’s time for policymakers to act like patriots: back our allies, hold bad actors to account, and ensure that diplomacy never becomes a cover for capitulation.
