As many as 200 Hamas fighters holed up in an Israeli-held area of the Gaza Strip and defying calls to surrender are casting doubts on the implementation of President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

The almost month-old ceasefire has twice been shaken by airstrikes launched by Israel in retaliation for ambushes against its troops around the southern Gaza town of Rafah, which it blamed on Hamas. The Palestinian faction initially denied that any of its gunmen remained behind a “yellow line” to which the Israeli army had redeployed as part of the deal, while Trump said “rogue elements” may have been responsible.

Changing tack, Hamas on Sunday said Israel bore “full responsibility for the confrontation with our fighters in Rafah, who are defending themselves within an area under its control.”

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