Vance arrives in Israel to bolster fragile Gaza ceasefire
His visit comes a week after President Donald Trump flew to Israel to celebrate the hard-won deal.
WASHINGTON — US Vice President JD Vance landed in Israel for a three-day visit on Tuesday, joining other senior Trump administration officials there to solidify an uneasy truce between Israel and Hamas.
Speaking at a press conference in southern Israel, Vance brushed aside concerns about the ceasefire’s durability, telling reporters he’s optimistic it will hold.
“Every time that there's an act of violence, there's this inclination to say, ‘Oh, this is the end of the ceasefire,’” Vance told reporters. “It's not the end. It is, in fact, exactly how this is going to have to happen when you have people who hate each other.”
Vance and second lady Usha Vance arrived in Israel as the 12-day-old ceasefire faces the threat of collapse, with both sides accusing each other of violations. Israel and Hamas agreed this month to a deal in which the militant group handed over 20 living hostages and agreed to release the remains of the 28 others, less than half of whom have been returned. In exchange, Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and partially withdrew its forces from the Gaza Strip.
