ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/JERUSALEM — US President Donald J. Trump said on Wednesday that a US-backed ceasefire in Gaza was not at risk after Israel launched airstrikes in the enclave, which killed 26 people in response to the killing of an Israeli soldier.

Israeli planes struck in Gaza on Tuesday after Israel accused the militant group Hamas of violating the ceasefire, the latest violence in the three-week-old deal brokered by Mr. Trump.

Gazan health authorities said the strikes killed at least 26 people, including five in a house hit in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, four in a building in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, and five in a car in Khan Younis.

“As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier,” Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “So the Israelis hit back, and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back,” he added.

The Israeli military confirmed the soldier’s death on Wednesday.

“Nothing is going to jeopardize” the ceasefire, Mr. Trump said. “You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave.”

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes, which followed a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office saying he had ordered immediate “powerful attacks.”

An Israeli military official said Hamas had violated the ceasefire by carrying out an attack against Israeli forces who were stationed within the so-called “yellow line,” the deployment line agreed upon in the ceasefire.

The US-backed ceasefire agreement went into effect on Oct. 10, halting two years of war triggered by deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Both sides have accused each other of ceasefire violations.

“If they (Hamas) are good, they are going to be happy and if they are not good, they are going to be terminated, their lives will be terminated,” Mr. Trump said.

“Nobody knows what happened to the Israeli soldier but they say it was sniper fire. And it was retribution for that, and I think they have a right to do that.”

Hamas denied responsibility for the attack on Israeli forces in Rafah, in southern Gaza and said in a statement that it remained committed to the ceasefire deal. — Reuters

BEIJING/TAIPEI — China “absolutely will not” rule out using force over Taiwan, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday, striking a much tougher tone than a series of articles in state media this week that pledged benign rule if the island comes over to Beijing.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has never renounced use of force to “reunify” with the island.

But the policy is not often directly voiced in public and did not appear in three Xinhua news agency commentaries this week about Taiwan, one of which mapped out how “patriots” could rule the island after “reunification” and promised Taiwan’s existing social system and way of life would be respected.

Peng Qing’en, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regular news conference in Beijing that peaceful “reunification” under the “one country, two systems” model is the fundamental approach to “resolving the Taiwan issue.”

“We are willing to create ample space for peaceful reunification and will spare no effort to pursue this prospect with the utmost sincerity,” he said.

“However, we absolutely will not renounce the use of force and reserve the option to take all necessary measures.”

China’s top official in charge of Taiwan policy, the ruling Communist Party’s fourth ranked leader Wang Huning, did not mention force in a key policy speech on Saturday, that instead focused on how both sides would benefit from “reunification.”

China’s renewed push on an autonomy model for Taiwan, which no major Taiwanese political party supports and the government in Taipei has repeatedly denounced, comes ahead of a meeting on Thursday between US President Donald J. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Mr. Trump told reporters on Wednesday he did not know whether he would even discuss Taiwan with Mr. Xi.

Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

Speaking earlier on Wednesday in Taipei, Taiwan National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen said China’s “patriots” model was what Beijing used in Hong Kong and Macau and had no market in Taiwan.

“The aim is to belittle Taiwan’s international standing, and Hong Kong-ify and Macau-ify Taiwan, to achieve the political objective of eliminating Taiwan’s sovereignty, which the Chinese Communist Party seeks to do,” he said.

“I think the Chinese communists have no way to enact the application of the Macau or Hong Kong model in Taiwan.”

In 2021, Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule from Britain in 1997, held its first “patriots-only” election with candidates vetted as loyal to Beijing. Turnout hit a record low.

Taiwan held its first direct presidential election in 1996, and democracy on the island is a noisy and vibrant affair where candidates are free to espouse any point of view, including being pro-independence or pro-Beijing.

China’s government refuses to talk to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a “separatist.” — Reuters

WASHINGTON — US President Donald J. Trump appeared to close the door on seeking a third term in office, acknowledging that the Constitution bars him from running again after his current term ends in January 2029.

“If you read it, it’s pretty clear — I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad,” Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday en route to South Korea, signaling a shift from earlier comments in which he declined to definitively rule out another bid.

The 22^nd Amendment to the US Constitution bars anyone from being elected to the US presidency a third time, but Mr. Trump has publicly toyed with the idea since he won a second term in November.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Tuesday that he had discussed the issue with Mr. Trump and concluded there was no viable path to amend the Constitution in time to allow a third term. “It’s been a great run,” Mr. Johnson said. “But I think the president knows, and he and I have talked about, the constrictions of the Constitution.”

Mr. Johnson noted that the amendment process would require two-thirds approval in Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the states, a process he estimated could take a decade. “I don’t see the path for that,” he added.

Mr. Trump’s allies, including former strategist Steve Bannon, have floated legal theories challenging the two-term limit established by the 22^nd Amendment.

Mr. Trump has referenced the idea at rallies and sells “Trump 2028” merchandise, though Mr. Johnson characterized it as political theater. “He has a good time with that, trolling the Democrats whose hair is on fire about the very prospect,” Mr. Johnson said.

Mr. Trump, 79, also pointed earlier this week to Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as potential Republican contenders for the 2028 election. If he were to run again, Mr. Trump would be 82, making him the oldest president in US history. — Reuters