U.S. Vice President JD Vance praised "progress" in maintaining the fragile Gaza cease-fire during a visit Tuesday to a new Israeli center for civilian and military cooperation, calling it key to advancing Washington’s efforts to secure lasting peace, despite the fact that Israel carried out attacks against the blockaded Palestinian enclave, killing dozens of civilians.
Vance, who visited with top U.S. envoys, said the fragile cease-fire is going "better than I expected.” Envoy Steve Witkoff added that "we are exceeding where we thought we would be at this time.”
Israeli forces carried out massive airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, dropping 153 tons (337,307 pounds) of bombs in retaliation for what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed was a cease-fire violation by the Palestinian group Hamas.
Vance, Witkoff and others are in Israel to shore up the cease-fire following a burst of deadly violence and questions over the plan for long-term peace.
Vance was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials and is expected to stay in the region until Thursday. Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and one of the architects of the cease-fire agreement, is also in Israel.
