TEL AVIV — Facing mounting pressure from the Trump administration, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can neither break the ceasefire with Hamas nor refuse to proceed with the second phase of President Donald Trump’s plan for ending the Gaza war despite vehement opposition from his far-right coalition partners.
Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel Tuesday to buttress the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent the collapse of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire following recent clashes. On Sunday, several militants emerged from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah and fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an Israeli patrol, killing two soldiers. Israel responded with several hours of airstrikes, after which both sides declared their commitment to the ceasefire.
"The ceasefire is still holding, but not thanks to Israel," a senior Israeli military source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. "It is clear to everyone that right now Trump and his people are managing the event." US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Israel Sunday to shore up the ceasefire, meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom Vance is also scheduled to meet Wednesday.
Still, Israeli officials are skeptical about the ceasefire holding and implementation of the second phase of the Trump plan that calls for Hamas to disarm and be replaced by an internationally supervised administration and Arab-Muslim peace force.
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