JD Vance’s trip takes place amid the escalation of violence, after Israeli bombings killed 45 Palestinians and with the exchange of hostage bodies as the main impasse in maintaining the agreement
The vice-president of the , , landed on this Tuesday (21) to strengthen the fragile ceasefire in , after threatening to “eradicate” the terrorist group if they fail to comply with the agreement. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were already in Tel Aviv, where they met with Israeli hostages freed by Hamas after two years of captivity in Gaza.
“Together, the Promised Land and the Land of Freedom, we can guarantee a better future, including the release of the remaining 15 hostages,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted on social media.
Vance will meet with Witkoff, Kushner and American military experts monitoring the truce. According to Israeli media, he will also speak with Israeli leaders, including the prime minister, on Wednesday (22) in Jerusalem. Netanyahu, who is under pressure from the most radical sectors of his government to abandon the agreement and resume fighting, said on Monday (20) that he and Vance would discuss “the security challenges we face and the diplomatic opportunities we have before us”.
Egypt’s intelligence chief, Hasan Rashad, met this Tuesday in Jerusalem with the Israeli leader also seeking to reinforce the fragile ceasefire. Rashad also has a planned meeting with Witkoff, reported Extra News, an Egyptian media outlet linked to the state.
Tough deal
After claiming that Hamas killed two soldiers on Sunday and accusing the group of delaying the delivery of the bodies of the hostages, Israel launched a wave of bombings that killed 45 Palestinians, said the Ministry of Health of the territory, governed by the terrorist group. Later, Israel assured that it had “renewed the application” of the ceasefire.
Despite the weekend’s violence, both sides said they supported the truce. Israel confirmed the delivery of the remains of another hostage, identified this Tuesday as non-commissioned officer Tal Haimi. With this, Hamas returned 13 of the 28 bodies of hostages that were supposed to return to Israel by October 13, 72 hours after the start of the truce.
Netanyahu’s office insisted in a statement that Hamas must hand over the remains of all hostages to implement the ceasefire agreement.
Hamas’s main negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said the Palestinian movement was serious about recovering the remaining 15 hostage bodies, but warned that the level of destruction in the territory made the search difficult.
‘Playing both approaches’
“The dynamics remain in a game of push and shove”, he declared to AFP Mairav Zonszein, Israel analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG). “On the one hand, Trump allows Israel to do whatever it wants, and on the other, in the end, he wants the ceasefire to hold,” he added. “Netanyahu is playing with both approaches (…) He talks about peace and giving a chance… And, at the same time, he bombs Gaza and tries to condition aid again,” he added.
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, condemned this Tuesday “all Israeli violations and practices in Palestine” in a message to lawmakers.
For his part, Trump stated that allied nations in the Middle East would “enthusiastically welcome the opportunity,” at his request, “to enter GAZA with a large force to ‘put Hamas in order’ if Hamas continues to misbehave.”
Firm response
The Israeli Army assured that, after Sunday’s attacks, it returned to complying with the ceasefire, but that it “will respond firmly to any violation”. Hamas accused Israel of inventing “pretexts” to resume the war.
The ceasefire, which came into force on October 10, also proposed an ambitious roadmap for Gaza’s future, but its implementation faces challenges. Under Trump’s 20-point plan, Israeli forces withdrew beyond the so-called “Yellow Line.” This leaves them in control of approximately half of Gaza, including the territory’s borders, but not its main cities.
The conflict began with the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which left 1,221 people dead on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP report based on official data. The Israeli offensive in reprisal has already claimed 68,229 lives in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the territory’s Ministry of Health, which the UN considers reliable.
*With information from AFP
Published by Nícolas Robert
