Trump admin in panic as major diplomatic deal shows signs of falling apart: report

Officials in the Trump administration are panicking as the president’s Gaza peace deal runs the risk of collapsing, Axios reported Thursday.

President Donald Trump brokered a historic peace deal between Israel and Hamas earlier this month, getting both parties to agree to his Gaza plan that included a full withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from Gaza, and an agreement on Hamas’ part to return all Israeli hostages, lay down its arms and agree not to participate in any future governance of Gaza.

As part of Trump’s peace plan, his administration is spearheading an effort to develop a new Palestinian police force, joined by a coalition of troops from Arab nations including Egypt and Turkey. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has outright rejected Turkey’s participation in the proposed security force, leading some Trump officials to grow increasingly concerned that the peace plan may fall apart.

"The Turks were very helpful in getting the Gaza deal and Netanyahu's bashing Turkey has been very counterproductive," a U.S. official told Axios, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Beyond Netanyahu’s defiance to key components of Trump’s plan, the Israeli military’s actions over the past few weeks have also put the plan in jeopardy. As recent as Tuesday, the Israel Defense Force killed 104 Palestinians in a single night during a wave of strikes on Gaza.

"If we don't have reliable security and governance in Gaza that the Israelis agree to, we will get stuck in a situation where Israel is attacking all the time," said a source involved in planning for the Gaza peace plan, speaking with Axios on the condition of anonymity.

Critics were already warning Trump that his peace plan was at risk of falling apart within hours of it being brokered, with a number of high-ranking Israeli officials openly objecting to key components of the plan. Those objections have persisted throughout the month, with Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir writing on social media Tuesday that “with the devil, one is forbidden to make deals,” and that it was “sad that [he] was right.”

Ben-Gvir, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have all spoken out against key components of Trump’s peace plan, vowing to continue its siege on Gaza following the return of the Israeli hostages. The delicate plan, however, still has some hope among Trump officials, some of whom noted how precarious the situation has been.

"It is better to move slow and get it right because we are not gonna have a second chance," a senior U.S. official told Axios, speaking on the condition of anonymity.