Vance lands in Israel as Gaza ceasefire teeters amid renewed violence and pressure on Hamas

Amid concerns that the ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip could collapse due to ongoing tensions between Israel and Hamas, Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday to urge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to uphold the agreement brokered by President Donald Trump.

Vance’s visit comes shortly after Trump’s Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Israel on a mission to press both Netanyahu and Hamas to remain committed to the deal.

While both Israel and Hamas have publicly stated their commitment to the ceasefire, recent exchanges of fire have raised fears that renewed fighting could jeopardise the agreement.

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In multiple rounds of ceasefire violations wherein each side has blamed the other, Gaza’s Hamas-run authorities have reported that Israeli strikes have killed at least 97 Palestinians and Israel has said two of its soldiers have been killed.

Unity on the record, fears behind the curtains

Despite Trump’s public show of unity with Israel, several US officials told The New York Times that there are internal concerns within the Trump administration that Netanyahu may abandon the deal.

The current strategy is for Vance, Witkoff, and Kushner to dissuade Netanyahu from launching a full-scale assault against Hamas, according to these officials.

A White House official told The Times that Trump believes Hamas leaders are negotiating in good faith and that the recent attack on Israeli soldiers was carried out by a fringe element within the group.

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In line with this assessment, Trump has downplayed Israel’s recent accusations against Hamas. On Monday, he described the fighting in Gaza as a “rebellion” within Hamas that was not sanctioned by its leadership. He said some Hamas personnel “got very rambunctious”, but also warned that he would allow Israel to “eradicate” the group if it violated the deal.

“We made a deal with Hamas that, you know, they’re going to be very good. They’re going to behave. They’re going to be nice. And if they’re not, we’re going to go and we’re going to eradicate them if we have to. They’ll be eradicated. And they know that,” said Trump.

Regarding Witkoff and Kushner’s mission, The Times reported that their objectives are to stabilise the situation, ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gaza, and facilitate the return of the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages to their families.

Vance outlines ‘best-case scenario’

Despite praising the Gaza deal as a diplomatic success, Vance on Sunday tempered expectations by outlining what he described as the “best-case scenario”.

Vance said the most realistic outcome would be a series of “fits and starts” between Israel and Hamas. He acknowledged that Hamas would likely continue to fire on Israel which would then need to respond.

Conceding that it was difficult to assess the “reality on the ground” when dealing with Hamas, Vance said that the group comprises “about 40 different cells” and all of them would not be on the same page about ending hostilities.

“Some of those cells will probably honour the ceasefire. Many of those cells, as we saw some evidence of today, will not. Before we can ensure that Hamas is properly disarmed, that’s going to require, as we know, some of these Gulf Arab states to get forces in there to actually apply some law and order and some security keeping on the ground,” said Vance.