Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel this Tuesday morning for high-stakes meetings with the nation’s leaders. His visit underscores the Trump administration’s urgent efforts to bolster the hard-won but incredibly fragile cease-fire agreement in Gaza.
Just this month, Israel and Hamas struck a truce in their ongoing two-year conflict, following key components of a plan proposed by President Trump. As part of the agreement on October 13, the Palestinian armed group released the 20 remaining living Israeli hostages held in Gaza. In a reciprocal move, Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
Despite being less than two weeks old, the cease-fire is already showing signs of significant strain. Mr. Vance’s trip, scheduled to conclude on Thursday, is seen by analysts as a clear message to both Israel and Hamas: uphold the truce, or face consequences.
He is not alone in these diplomatic efforts. Mr. Vance joins Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Mideast envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, who were already in Israel monitoring the truce. This trio played a crucial role in brokering the original deal, working alongside Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators.
Sources close to the Trump administration, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed to reporters on Monday a growing concern that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might withdraw from the U.S.-backed agreement.
For the time being, both Israel and Hamas publicly affirm their commitment to the cease-fire, even amidst recent sporadic bursts of violence.
Indeed, Sunday witnessed a significant escalation when Palestinian militants attacked Israeli soldiers in Rafah, a southern Gaza city, resulting in the deaths of two soldiers. Israel responded with a series of retaliatory strikes, which Gaza health officials reported killed a total of 45 Palestinians. While this particular outbreak was brief, analysts caution that the truce is highly susceptible to further challenges. Furthermore, Israeli forces have engaged Palestinians who reportedly crossed a demarcation line from which Israeli troops had previously withdrawn within Gaza. The Israeli military claimed some were militants, but Gaza officials stated on Saturday that several civilians, including children, were among those killed.
In a Monday address to the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, Mr. Netanyahu remained tight-lipped about the specifics of his anticipated discussions with Mr. Vance.
“Our talks will primarily focus on the security challenges and diplomatic opportunities before us,” Mr. Netanyahu stated. “We are determined to overcome these challenges and seize every opportunity.”
President Trump and his team of mediators harbor aspirations of leveraging this cease-fire into an ambitious post-war blueprint for Gaza. This vision includes Hamas fighters disarming, an international peacekeeping force ensuring security, and eventually, an independent Palestinian administration assuming control.
However, Hamas has voiced substantial objections to this ambitious plan, particularly regarding the disarming of its fighters. Moreover, both sides have yet to fully implement crucial aspects of the initial cease-fire agreement, let alone progress toward a broader, long-term resolution for Gaza’s future.
A key outstanding issue is the return of approximately 15 hostage bodies, which Hamas is obligated to hand over to Israel under the current deal. Hamas officials claim that the extensive devastation from two years of war has created immense difficulties in locating and recovering these remains.
“We are genuinely committed to returning all the bodies, as stipulated by the agreement,” Khalil al-Hayya, a prominent Hamas leader, informed Egyptian state television early Tuesday morning.
While Hamas has transferred the bodies of at least 13 individuals to Israel, and Israel has, in turn, repatriated over 100 Palestinian bodies, Mr. al-Hayya emphasized the “enormous difficulty” in excavating some remains. This challenge stems from the “changed landscape” of Gaza, where vast urban areas have been reduced to rubble by the conflict.
Despite these efforts, Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, have accused Hamas of breaching the agreement by not promptly returning more hostage remains. In retaliation, Israel has maintained the closure of the Rafah crossing, the vital gateway between Gaza and Egypt, indefinitely.
Late Monday night, Hamas did return the body of one remaining hostage, later identified by Israeli officials as Tal Haimi. Mr. Haimi, a 41-year-old resident of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak near the Gaza border, tragically lost his life during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which sparked the devastating war.
That initial assault resulted in approximately 1,200 fatalities and saw around 250 individuals, predominantly civilians, taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. In response, Israel launched a relentless campaign in Gaza, which local health officials report has claimed the lives of over 68,000 people, including thousands of children.