Vance arrives in Israel

U.S. Vice President JD Vance touched down in Israel on Tuesday afternoon, against the backdrop of repeated Hamas violations of the Trump administration-brokered ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The vice president was welcomed to the Jewish state by Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin, acting in his capacity as deputy prime minister.

Following his arrival at Ben-Gurion International Airport, Vance held a working lunch with U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, who arrived in Israel on Monday as part of Washington’s efforts to prevent the ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza from collapsing.

Later on Tuesday, Vance is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials in Jerusalem. Following the top-level meeting, Vance is scheduled to hold a press conference.

Jerusalem on Sunday night reaffirmed its commitment to the U.S.-brokered Gaza deal, after a series of Hamas attacks on IDF soldiers prompted Israeli military retaliation and threatened to derail the agreement.

Under the agreement that took effect last week, Hamas was obligated to return all 28 bodies of hostages it held as of Oct. 13. So far, it has transferred only 13 to Israel.

As part of the truce, Hamas also released the remaining 20 living hostages in exchange for a partial Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the release of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners.

© JNS