US Vice-President JD Vance has arrived in Israel as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to strengthen the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
He is expected to push the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to start negotiations on long-term issues for a permanent end to the war with Hamas.
The two special US envoys who helped negotiate the deal, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, also held talks with Netanyahu on Monday.
Their visits come after a flare-up of violence on Sunday that threatened to derail the 12-day-old truce. Israel said a Hamas attack killed two soldiers, triggering Israeli air strikes which killed dozens of Palestinians.
US President Donald Trump insisted on Monday that the ceasefire was still on track but also warned Hamas that it would be “eradicated” if it violated the deal. Trump is said to have dispatched his deputy and envoys to Israel to keep up the momentum and push for the start of talks on the second critical phase of his 20-point Gaza peace plan.
It would involve setting up an interim government in the Palestinian territory, deploying an international stabilisation force, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and disarmament of Hamas.
Israel has previously said it would not join such talks until Hamas has returned all the deceased hostages it has been holding.
Vance, Witkoff and Kushner are also attempting to ensure the ceasefire deal, which is based on the first phase of the peace plan, does not collapse first.
The New York Times cited US officials as saying they were concerned that Israel’s prime minister might “vacate” the deal and resume an all-out assault against Hamas.
Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament on Monday that he would discuss “security challenges” and “political opportunities” with Vance during his visit.
Credit: bbc.com
