Vance touts Gaza truce's progress

In his visit to Israel, the vice president also noted the 'very hard' work that awaits.

- By RENATA BRITO, MELANIE LIDMAN AND SAMY MAGDY

VICE PRESIDENT JD Vance, shown Tuesday in Tel Aviv, is expected to stay in the region until Thursday.

(NATHAN HOWARD Pool Photo)

Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday called progress in Gaza's fragile ceasefire better than anticipated but acknowledged during his Israel visit that challenges remain, including disarming Hamas and rebuilding a land devastated by two years of war.

Vance noted flareups of violence in recent days but said the ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hamas that began Oct. 10 is going “better than I expected.” The Trump administration’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, added that “we are exceeding where we thought we would be at this time.”

They visited a new center in Israel for civilian and military cooperation as questions persist over the long-term plan for peace, including when and how an international security force will deploy to Gaza and who will govern the Palestinian territory after the war.

JACK GUEZ AFP/Getty Images AT A rally Tuesday in Tel Aviv, people display the images of hostages whose remains have yet to be returned.

Vance tried to downplay any idea that his visit — his first as vice president — was urgently arranged to keep the ceasefire in place. He said he feels “confident that we're going to be in a place where this peace lasts,” but warned that if Hamas doesn’t cooperate, it will be “obliterated.”

Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and one of the architects of the ceasefire agreement, noted its complexity: “Both sides are transitioning from two years of very intense warfare to now a peacetime posture.”

Vance is expected to stay in the region until Thursday and meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials.