JERUSALEM (FN) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned Wednesday of the difficult road ahead in disarming Hamas and rebuilding Gaza, as Washington sought to reassure Israel about the next steps in its ambitious ceasefire plan.
Vance met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem during the second day of his three-day visit to Israel, part of a diplomatic push to support the U.S.-brokered deal aimed at ending hostilities, recovering hostages, and reconstructing the war-torn Palestinian territory.
“We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but rebuild Gaza — to make life better for the people of Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel,” Vance said.
On Tuesday, Vance inaugurated the Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) in southwest Israel, where U.S. and allied forces will work with Israeli troops to monitor the truce and oversee humanitarian aid to Gaza. He mentioned the possible formation of an international security force to maintain peace as Israel withdraws, though no American troops will be stationed inside Gaza.
Reports that Turkey, a vocal critic of Israel, might contribute troops to the force have stirred controversy. Netanyahu, asked about Turkey’s role, responded: “I have very strong opinions about that. You want to guess what they are?”
Despite renewed violence on Sunday — when two Israeli soldiers were killed and Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes that reportedly killed 45 Palestinians — Vance expressed “great optimism” that the ceasefire would hold. He praised the deal’s potential to advance the Abraham Accords, a U.S. initiative to normalize relations between Israel and Arab nations.
Netanyahu, facing domestic criticism for accepting the ceasefire before Hamas was fully dismantled and all hostage remains recovered, defended the agreement. “We’ve been able to do two things: put the knife up to Hamas’s throat and isolate them in the Arab and Muslim world,” he said, crediting U.S. diplomatic efforts.
The Israeli military confirmed Wednesday that the remains of two hostages — Aryeh Zalmanovich, 85, and Master Sergeant Tamir Adar, 38 — had been returned and identified. Hamas has released 15 of the 28 pledged hostage bodies but said ongoing destruction in Gaza has hindered further recovery.
The war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has killed at least 68,229 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The attack itself left 1,221 people dead in Israel, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli data.
