JD Vance Expresses ‘Great Optimism’ for Gaza Truce During Israel Visit

United States Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday expressed “great optimism” that the fragile Gaza truce would hold, during a visit to Israel aimed at reinforcing support for the ceasefire and advancing post-war reconstruction plans.

Despite Israeli concerns that Hamas is using the ceasefire to re-establish control in Gaza, Vance said Washington would not impose a deadline for the group to disarm under the U.S.-brokered deal.

His comments followed a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump, who stated that allied nations in the Middle East were prepared to invade Gaza to “wipe out Hamas” if the group failed to comply with the truce terms.

Speaking at a press conference in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel, where a U.S.-led mission is overseeing the ceasefire, Vance said: “What we’ve seen the past week gives me great optimism the ceasefire is going to hold. I think that everybody should be proud of where we are today. It’s going to require constant effort. It’s going to require constant monitoring and supervision.”

Vance is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

The ceasefire remains delicate, with Hamas claiming it needs additional time and technical assistance to recover the remains of Israeli hostages from the ruins of Gaza.

On Sunday, violence flared when two Israeli soldiers were killed, prompting a series of retaliatory air strikes.

Before Vance’s arrival, Trump issued a stern warning via his Truth Social platform: “Numerous of our NOW GREAT ALLIES in the Middle East... have informed me that they would welcome the opportunity, at my request, to go into GAZA with a heavy force and ‘straighten out Hamas’ if Hamas continues to act badly.”

While opening a new U.S.–Israeli Civil–Military Coordination Centre in southwest Israel, Vance reaffirmed U.S. support for Trump’s stance but downplayed Israeli pressure for a fixed timeline.

“I’m not going to do what the President of the United States has thus far refused to do, which is put an explicit deadline on it, because a lot of this stuff is difficult,” Vance explained.

He clarified that U.S. troops would not be deployed in Gaza, though the U.S. would continue to engage in “useful coordination” with allies.

The future of Hamas remains a central point of contention. Although the ceasefire agreement rules out any future political role for the group in Gaza, Hamas has resisted disarmament and sought to reassert control over local territories, sometimes clashing with armed clans.

Hamas has denied any role in Sunday’s violence in Rafah, where two Israeli soldiers were killed. Israel retaliated with heavy air strikes, which the Hamas-run Health Ministry said resulted in the deaths of 45 Palestinians.

“The only thing stopping Israel from further destroying Gaza is Trump,” said Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group.

She added that Prime Minister Netanyahu was “saying certain things to make Trump happy, but doing other things, and the ceasefire is very, very fragile.”

Despite sporadic clashes, Hamas has continued to return hostage remains as stipulated under the ceasefire deal.

The Red Cross confirmed it had facilitated the exchange of both Israeli and Palestinian remains as part of the truce agreement, noting the difficulty of operations due to the extensive destruction in Gaza.

Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s Gaza leader, speaking from Cairo after talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, expressed confidence that the ceasefire would endure.

“What we heard from the mediators and from the U.S. President reassures us that the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has ended,” he said.

Humanitarian Toll of the War

The 2023 Hamas attack on Israel triggered the devastating conflict that continues to reshape the region. The war has left much of Gaza in ruins, killed tens of thousands, and displaced hundreds of thousands more.