Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Tuesday morning for meetings with the country’s leaders, as the Trump administration rushes to shore up the hard-won, fragile cease-fire deal in Gaza.
Israel and Hamas agreed this month to a truce in their two-year war, based a plan outlined by President Trump. On Oct. 13, the Palestinian armed group handed over the 20 Israeli hostages it was still holding in Gaza, while Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange.
But the cease-fire is under strain as Mr. Vance starts his trip to Israel, which is set to last until Thursday. On Sunday, Palestinian militants fired on Israeli soldiers in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, killing two. In response, Israel launched a wave of strikes that left a total of 45 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza health officials. The round of violence was short-lived, but analysts have warned that the truce is likely to be tested again.
In a speech on Monday to the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered few details about what he expected to discuss with Mr. Vance.
“We will talk about two things, mainly the security challenges and the diplomatic opportunities we face,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “We will overcome the challenges and seize the opportunities.”
Mr. Vance will join Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s Mideast envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, both of whom are already in Israel to monitor the truce. The two were instrumental to brokering the deal alongside Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators.
Mr. Trump and his mediators hope to build on the cease-fire to realize an ambitious postwar vision for Gaza, in which Hamas fighters would lay down their weapons, an international force would take charge of security and an independent Palestinian administration would eventually assume control.
Hamas has expressed serious reservations about that plan, particularly about disarming its fighters. And both sides have yet to carry out significant parts of the initial cease-fire agreement, much less reach a broader deal on Gaza’s future.
The bodies of 15 hostages, which Hamas is obligated to return to Israel under the cease-fire deal, are still in Gaza. Hamas officials have said that they are doing the best they can, but that the sheer devastation left by two years of war has made it difficult to recover the bodies.
Israeli leaders, including Mr. Netanyahu, have accused Hamas of violating the deal by not immediately returning more hostages’ remains. Israel has retaliated by keeping the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed until further notice. The cease-fire calls for that crossing to be opened, allowing civilians to enter and leave Gaza for the first time in months.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
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