US Vice President, JD Vance has projected optimism about Gaza‘s fragile ceasefire agreement.
This came as he and other envoys; namely Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited a new center in Israel for civilian and military cooperation.
Vance noted flareups of violence in recent days but said that the ceasefire is going “better than I expected” after two years of war between Israel and Hamas.
Envoy Steve Witkoff added that “we are exceeding where we thought we would be at this time.”
Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and one of the architects of the ceasefire agreement, Witkoff and Vance are in Israel as questions remain over the long-term plan for peace, such as whether Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza. Vance landed in Israel earlier today, his first visit to the country as Vice President.
Vance tried to downplay any idea that his visit was urgently arranged to keep the ceasefire in place. “My visit had nothing to do with the events of the past 48 hours,” he said.
Vance was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials and is expected to stay in the region until Thursday.
Vance asserted that he feels “confident that we’re going to be in a place where this peace lasts,” but warned that if Hamas doesn’t cooperate, it will be “obliterated.”
Vance emphasized that US troops would not be on the ground in Gaza, and said that “we’re in the phase now where we’re actually starting to conceptualize what that international security force would look like” for the territory.
The ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, 2025, has been tested by Sunday’s fighting and mutual accusations of violations.
Nonetheless, both Israel and Hamas have said that they are committed to the deal. Trump has made clear he wants it to succeed.
Vance Urges Patience Over Pace Of Dead Hostage Bodies Release
Also in his remarks, Vance urged for patience amid Israeli frustration with Hamas’ pace of the returns.
“Some of these hostages are buried under thousands of pounds of rubble. Some of the hostages, nobody even knows where they are. It’s just a reason to counsel in favor of a little bit of patience.”
JD Vance
He added that “a lot of this work is very hard” as he faced questions over next steps, and he urged flexibility.
Meanwhile, Israel confirmed that Palestinian militants had released the body of Tal Haimi, who was killed in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. He was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak. The 42-year-old was part of its emergency response team and had four children, including one born after the attack.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is waiting for Hamas to turn over the remains of 15 hostages. Thirteen others have been turned over.
Under the deal, Israel is releasing 15 Palestinian bodies for the remains of each dead hostage, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government. It said that Israel had transferred another 15 today, for a total of 165 since earlier this month.
So far, only 32 of the bodies have been identified, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
A senior health official in Gaza said that some bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel bore “evidence of torture” and called for a United Nations-launched investigation.
Dr. Muneer al-Boursh, the ministry’s General Director, said in on social media late Monday that some had evidence of being bound with ropes and metal shackles, blindfolds, deep wounds, abrasions, burns and crushed limbs.
It was not immediately clear if any of the bodies had been prisoners; they are returned without identifications or details on how they died. The bodies could include Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli custody or bodies taken out of Gaza by Israeli troops during the war.
The Israel Prisons Service denied that prisoners had been mistreated, saying it had followed legal procedures and provided medical care and “adequate living conditions.”
Israeli hostages released from Gaza have also reported metal shackles and harsh conditions, including frequent beatings and starvation.
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