JD Vance appeals for patience as Gaza truce hangs in balance

JD Vance told reporters in Israel that he thinks the Gaza peace plan is going to last but repeated President Donald Trump's claims that, if Hamas does not cooperate, it will be "obliterated."

Vance urged a "little bit of patience" amid growing Israeli frustration with Israeli hostage families share details of ordeals Hamas' pace of return of deceased hostages.

"Some of these hostages are buried under thousands of pounds of rubble. Some of the hostages, nobody even knows where they are," Vance said. "It's just a reason to counsel in favor of a little bit of patience."

He added that "a lot of this work is very hard" as he faced questions over next steps, and he urged flexibility.

Hamas militants have so far released 13 bodies of hostages that were held in Gaza for the past two years as part of the ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

US Vice President JD Vance said during a press briefing in Israel that the US would not send troops into Gaza, echoing comments made by US President Donald Trump.

"There are not going to be American boots on the ground in Gaza. The President of the United States has made that very clear. All of our military leadership has made that very clear."

Vance added that the US would limit itself to providing "useful coordination." 

He also added that Washington had not set a deadline for the disarmament of Hamas set out in the Gaza deal.

"We know that Hamas has to comply with the deal and if Hamas doesn't comply with the deal, very bad things are going to happen, but 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 said. 

US Vice President JD Vance opened his press conference by saying Hamas was a terrorist organization and that the Israeli military was "defending itself" throughout the conflict.

Vance arrived in Israel earlier Tuesday, along with his wife, Usha Vance, and is expected to stay in the region until Thursday.

Vance continues negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, with US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kusher, having landed in Tel Aviv to continue work on the ceasefire deal on Monday.

Vance visited a newly opened civilian-military cooperation center in Israel that the US says is central to keeping Trump's Gaza peace plan on track.

Gaza's fragile ceasefire faced its first major test Sunday as Israeli forces launched a wave of deadly strikes, saying Hamas militants had killed two soldiers.

The Israeli military later said Sunday it resumed enforcing the ceasefire that first went into effect on October 10.

The remains of two more hostages returned by Hamas on Tuesday evening have been identified, Israel's military has said.

In a statement early Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the bodies had been identified as those of Aryeh Zalmanovich and Master Sergeant Tamir Adar.

Zalmanovich was kidnapped from his home in kibbutz Nir Oz. He was killed in captivity on November 17, 2023 at the age of 85, the IDF said.

Adar was 38 when he died on October 7, 2023 defending the kibbutz, the IDF said. His death was pronounced on January 4, 2024, the statement added.

Adar's grandmother, Yaffa, was also kidnapped during the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. She was returned as part of the hostage deal in November 2023, the IDF said.

After two years of war in Gaza, some Palestinian prisoners are returning to the grim reality of ruined homes and lost loved ones. Both former detainees and human rights groups have reported routine abuse in Israeli prisons, which Israel has denied.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that Hamas has handed two more coffins carrying the apparent remains of deceased hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza. 

"Two coffins of deceased hostages, escorted by IDF troops, crossed the border into the State of Israel a short while ago and are on their way to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine, where identification procedures will be carried out," the Israel Defense Forces said on X.

Hamas has so far returned the remains of 15 hostages to Israel. Another 13 still need to be recovered in Gaza and handed over, under the terms of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the US, Israel and others, has said it needs heavy machinery and excavating equipment to speed up searches under the rubble.

On a visit to Israel Tuesday, US Vice President JD Vance urged a "little bit of patience" amid Israeli frustration with Hamas' pace of returning the hostages.

Israel is releasing 15 Palestinian bodies for the remains of each dead hostage, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. 

Former US Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer joins DW to discuss the state of the Gaza peace plan given the recent flaring of violence on both sides. 

Hamas's armed wing says it will hand over the bodies of two more Israeli hostages as part of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said the bodies were exhumed on Tuesday in the Gaza Strip and would be returned at 9 p.m. local time.

Militants have so far returned 13 of the 28 hostage bodies Hamas pledged to deliver under the agreement, which is part of ongoing efforts to maintain the fragile truce.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met with Egypt's intelligence chief Hassan Rashad in Jerusalem to discuss the next steps in implementing the US-backed plan to end the war in Gaza, his office said.

The talks also covered bilateral relations between Israel and Egypt. Cairo, along with Qatar and the United States, has been mediating indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Egypt's state-affiliated television channel al-Qahera reported ahead of the meeting that discussions would focus on maintaining the ceasefire, facilitating aid deliveries to Gaza, and resolving obstacles to the peace plan. Rashad is also expected to meet US envoy Steve Witkoff, who is currently in Israel.

US President Donald Trump has said allied nations in the Middle East are prepared to send troops into Gaza at his request if Hamas fails to follow his peace plan.

The warning comes a day after Trump said Hamas would be eradicated if it did not honor the deal that ended the two-year war with Israel.

On Truth Social, Trump wrote that several "great allies" in and around the Middle East had told him they would "go into Gaza with a heavy force" to confront Hamas if it continued to violate the agreement.

The post comes amid visits by Vice President JD Vance and two Trump envoys to Israel, as Washington worked to sustain the fragile ceasefire after renewed violence in Gaza.

Trump said he told both Israel and regional allies to hold off for now, adding that there was still hope Hamas would comply with the plan. He warned that if it did not, the end of Hamas would be "fast, furious, and brutal."

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the reopening of aid routes into Gaza as a matter of "absolute urgency" to deliver essential supplies to civilians caught in the conflict.

"The situation in Gaza remains very fragile," Macron said at a news conference in Ljubljana alongside Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob.

"We wish to remain committed along with our European, Arab and US partners to immediately obtain — and this is a matter of absolute urgency — the reopening of humanitarian sites and routes so that aid, food and basic necessities can be brought to the population," he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it has facilitated the transfer of 15 Palestinian bodies from Israel to Gaza as part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal, raising the total number repatriated to 165.

"The ICRC today facilitated the transfer of deceased Palestinians to authorities in Gaza... Local health authorities in Gaza have confirmed the number of deceased received today is 15," the organization said in a statement.

Under the terms of the truce, Israel is to return the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli hostage handed over. Israel confirmed Monday that Hamas had transferred the body of the 13th Israeli hostage.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) says food deliveries into Gaza have increased since the US-brokered ceasefire but remain well below its target of 2,000 metric tons per day, as only two border crossings are currently open and none to the famine-hit north.

Around 750 metric tons of food are entering the Gaza Strip daily, according to the WFP, but the figure remains far short of what is needed after two years of war between Israel and Hamas that have devastated the enclave and left most of its population homeless.

"Sustaining the ceasefire is vital. Really, it's the only way we can save lives and push back on the famine in the north of Gaza," Abeer Etefa, Middle East spokesperson for the WFP, told reporters in Geneva. "We know it's a fragile ceasefire; the most important thing is that it lasts.

Etefa said 530 WFP trucks had crossed into the territory of some 2.4 million people since the ceasefire began, bringing in more than 6,700 tons of food. She said this was "enough for close to half a million people for two weeks."  

"Convoys are pushing through, food is getting to the warehouses and distributions are happening in an organised and dignified manner," she said.

"To be able to get to this scale-up, we have to use every border crossing point right now," WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told reporters in Geneva.

US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday on a mission to reinforce a fragile US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

"Welcome to Israel, Vice President Vance," Israel's foreign ministry posted on social media, sharing a photo of Vance and his wife, Usha, stepping off the plane. "Together, the Promised Land and the Land of the Free can secure a better future, including the release of the remaining 15 hostages," the ministry added.

Vance is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, top US Middle East envoys and military officials overseeing the truce. He will hold a news conference Tuesday evening in Jerusalem and meet families of both deceased hostages still held in Gaza, as well as those released last week.

A senior Israeli official said the purpose of Vance's visit was to move Gaza talks into the second phase of the ceasefire.

The visit comes amid renewed tension after a burst of deadly violence over the weekend raised doubts about the stability of the truce. Both sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire—disputing delays in returning hostage bodies, delivering aid, and reopening border crossings.

You join us with US Vice President JD Vance having arrived in Israel as Washington seeks to shore up a shaky US-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas.

Vance is set to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US envoys and military officials before holding a news conference in Jerusalem.

He'll also meet hostage families as talks move into the second phase of the ceasefire.

Follow along as DW brings you the latest reports, explainers and analysis on developments across the Middle East.