US Vice President Vance lands in Israel for Gaza ceasefire talks

ISTANBUL / JERUSALEM

US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday for talks on a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media said.

The daily Yedioth Ahronoth said Vance’s first visit to Tel Aviv since he assumed his post is aimed at overseeing the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

According to US media, Vance’s 3-day visit is part of pressures being piled on Israel to abide by the ceasefire.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said that Vance will meet US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who arrived in Israel on Monday.

He is expected to visit a military command center recently built in Kiryat Gat in southern Israel, where hundreds of US and Israeli troops are stationed, KAN said.

According to earlier reports by the broadcaster, Vance will not visit the Gaza Strip, but will motion the situation via screens at Israeli Defense Ministry’s headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Israel launched a series of deadly airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday in violation of the ceasefire, killing at least 44 Palestinians after alleging that Hamas had attacked its troops in the southern city of Rafah. The Palestinian group denied any involvement and reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire.

The ceasefire deal took effect on Oct. 10 in Gaza, based on a phased plan presented by Trump. Phase one included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Since October 2023, the Israeli genocidal war has killed over 68,200 people and injured more than 170,300, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.