Vance Arrives In Israel As Washington Pushes To Reinforce Gaza Ceasefire

US Vice President JD Vance has arrived in Israel as part of the Trump administration’s renewed push to solidify the fragile Gaza ceasefire agreement.

During his visit, Vance is expected to urge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to begin talks addressing long-term issues aimed at bringing the conflict with Hamas to a lasting end.

Two American envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner who played key roles in brokering the ceasefire also met with Netanyahu on Monday.

Their diplomatic efforts followed a surge in violence on Sunday that nearly upended the 12-day truce. Israeli authorities reported that a Hamas attack killed two soldiers, prompting retaliatory airstrikes that left dozens of Palestinians dead.

President Donald Trump maintained on Monday that the truce remained “on track” but issued a stern warning to Hamas, saying the group would be “eradicated” if it breached the agreement.

According to reports, Trump sent his vice president and envoys to Israel to sustain progress on his 20-point Gaza peace initiative and encourage movement toward its second phase.

This next stage reportedly includes establishing an interim administration in Gaza, deploying an international peacekeeping mission, withdrawing Israeli troops, and ensuring Hamas’s disarmament.

Israel, however, has said it would not join such discussions until Hamas returns the bodies of all the hostages killed in captivity.

Vance, Witkoff, and Kushner are also focused on maintaining stability under the current ceasefire, which forms the foundation of the plan’s first phase.

US officials have reportedly expressed concern that Netanyahu could “vacate” the agreement and launch a renewed military offensive.

Speaking before the Knesset on Monday, Netanyahu said he would discuss “security challenges” and “political opportunities” with Vance during his visit.

He also disclosed that Israeli forces had dropped 153 tonnes of bombs on Gaza following what he described as a “blatant” ceasefire violation by Hamas on Sunday.

“One of our hands holds a weapon, the other hand is stretched out for peace,” he said. “You make peace with the strong, not the weak. Today Israel is stronger than ever before.”

According to the Israeli military, Sunday’s anti-tank missile attack by Hamas in southern Gaza killed two soldiers. The army responded with widespread strikes that, according to local hospitals, killed at least 45 Palestinians.

Following the escalation, Israeli forces said they had reinstated enforcement of the truce, while Hamas reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire.

Nonetheless, reports emerged on Monday that four Palestinians were shot dead east of Gaza City. The Israeli military said its troops fired at “terrorists” who had crossed the “Yellow Line”, a boundary marking areas still under Israeli control.

Later that day, Trump told reporters: “We made a deal with Hamas that they’re going to be very good. They’re going to behave. They’re going to be nice.”

“If they’re not, we’re going to go and we’re going to eradicate them, if we have to. They’ll be eradicated, and they know that,” he added.

Meanwhile, Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, speaking from Cairo, reaffirmed the group’s adherence to the truce.

He said Hamas and other Palestinian groups were “determined to fully implement it until the end”.

“What we heard from the mediators and the US president reassures us that the war in Gaza is over,” he told Egypt’s Al-Qahera News TV.

Al-Hayya also confirmed that efforts were ongoing to recover the remains of deceased hostages still trapped under rubble, describing the process as an “extreme difficulty” due to limited equipment.

Overnight, Israeli authorities said Hamas handed over another hostage’s body to the Red Cross in Gaza. The remains were later identified as those of 41-year-old Tal Haimi, who was killed during the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak.

That brings to 13 the number of deceased hostages whose bodies have been returned out of the 28 held when the ceasefire began on October 10.

Last week, Hamas also freed 20 living hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Israeli custody.

Public frustration has grown in Israel over Hamas’s failure to return all of the deceased hostages, with the prime minister’s office insisting the group “was required to uphold its commitments”.

The UN’s World Food Programme has called the continuation of the ceasefire “vital” for maintaining humanitarian access to Gaza.

Since the truce began, the agency has delivered over 6,700 tonnes of food through 530 trucks, enough to feed nearly half a million people for two weeks, according to spokeswoman Abeer Atefa.

However, she noted that logistical challenges remain, as only two border crossings, Kerem Shalom and Kissufim are currently open, both located in the south. This has made it difficult to reach northern Gaza, where hunger levels are “extremely dire.”

While smaller nutritional supplements have been distributed in the north via southern routes, larger deliveries have not yet been possible.

In southern Gaza, Atefa said aid distribution has been orderly, with no looting reported. Still, she noted that families are rationing their food out of fear that deliveries could stop again.

Aid shipments were briefly halted by Israel following Sunday’s violence but resumed on Monday after pressure from international partners.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza began after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 assault, in which militants killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.

Since then, Gaza’s health ministry run by Hamas reports that at least 68,216 people have been killed in Israeli strikes.