During his visit to Israel on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance stated that the recent high-level American delegations were aimed at diligently overseeing the delicate Gaza cease-fire agreement, rather than merely ‘monitoring a toddler’.
Vance’s remarks followed a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
This visit took place shortly after President Trump’s own trip to the region. Additionally, Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy, and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, have also been present in Israel recently, highlighting sustained American engagement.
Regarding the United States’ efforts to uphold the cease-fire, Vance clarified, ‘It’s not about monitoring in the sense of, you know, you monitor a toddler.’ He elaborated that the purpose is to ensure that ‘a lot of work, a lot of good people’ are carrying out their duties effectively, and that key administration officials are continually verifying these efforts.
Following a proposal introduced by President Trump in September, Israel and Hamas reached a truce this month, pausing their two-year conflict.
However, the cease-fire has faced growing pressure recently due to recurring outbreaks of violence in Gaza.
Anonymously, several Trump administration officials revealed concerns that Prime Minister Netanyahu might abandon the agreement. The current American strategy involves Vance, Witkoff, and Kushner working to prevent Netanyahu from reigniting a full-scale offensive against Hamas.
Key challenges remain for the cease-fire’s subsequent phases, particularly the unresolved question of how to convince Hamas to disarm.
While Netanyahu consistently demands Hamas’s disarmament for the war’s conclusion, Hamas views this as a demand for surrender, considering armed resistance integral to its core beliefs.
When questioned on Wednesday about strategies to disarm Hamas, Vance offered no specifics, stating only, ‘We’re going to keep working on it.’
Another critical issue is the extent of the role the United States and its allies foresee for the Palestinian Authority, which governs portions of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Netanyahu has consistently opposed the Authority’s control over post-war Gaza.
On the same day, senior Palestinian Authority figures — Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh and intelligence chief Majed Faraj — were scheduled to meet with Egyptian officials in Cairo to discuss plans for postwar Gaza, as confirmed by al-Sheikh’s spokesman.
The initial stage of the cease-fire involved the release of 20 hostages held in Gaza and, in exchange, Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Subsequently, Hamas has repatriated the remains of at least 15 individuals to Israel, while Israel has returned over 150 Palestinian bodies to Gaza.
Despite the challenges, Vance conveyed optimism that the truce would endure.
He concluded, ‘I think that we have an opportunity to do something really historic, so we’re going to keep working at it with all of our friends in the Israeli government.’