Vice President JD Vance is set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit aimed at advancing the second phase of a Trump-brokered Gaza peace deal. The push comes as concerns grow that Hamas is regaining control in the enclave and as key e
When Vice President JD Vance boards his Monday flight to Israel. the agenda is clear: keep the fragile Gaza ceasefire from slipping into something harder to reverse. The stakes are equally clear. The second phase of the Trump administration’s peace plan hinges on governance in Gaza and. ultimately. the disarmament of Hamas.
Vance is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the visit, according to a source familiar with the trip. Israeli media first reported the plan. Vance will travel with Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff, a key negotiator tied to the White House’s 20-point proposal.
The diplomatic push arrives amid intensifying concern that Hamas may be regaining control of the enclave. Reports have pointed to public executions and violence, while Hamas has continued holding on to hostage captives that—under the earlier terms—were expected to be turned over.
Hamas returned nine of 28 bodies of deceased hostages after Israel threatened to reduce the number of aid trucks allowed into Gaza. The militant group released all 20 living hostages on Oct. 13.
The sequence of those releases is part of what made the first phase of President Donald Trump’s peace plan possible. That initial stage called for the return of all living and deceased hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners. alongside a pullback of Israeli troops. increased aid to Gaza. and a ceasefire.
The second phase, which Vance is going to help press forward, is meant to move the conflict from a temporary halt to a longer-term settlement. It calls for the long-term governance of Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.
Trump previewed the deal’s momentum with a high-profile trip to Israel, where he announced an end to the war in a speech to the country’s parliament. But major parts of the proposal still have not been delivered. Netanyahu, for his part, has said the end of the war is conditional.
In a Saturday interview on Channel 14 in Israel, Netanyahu said the war would not be over until the peace agreement is fully implemented. He tied that to demilitarization of Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.
Trump’s own language has been even sharper. On Oct. 14, he said Hamas fighters needed to lay down their arms in “a reasonable period of time,” or the U.S. would disarm them. Trump said: “If they don’t disarm. we will disarm them. and it will happen quickly and perhaps violently.” He added. “But they will disarm.”.
A key point in the weeks ahead is the gap between what the deal requires and what remains uncertain on the ground—hostage transfers and the behavior of armed groups have already been tested. and the next step depends on control. governance. and the disarmament that both sides have treated as the essential endgame.
JD Vance Benjamin Netanyahu Steve Witkoff Trump peace plan Gaza Hamas hostage releases ceasefire disarmament Israel aid trucks U.S. diplomacy