KIRYAT GAT: US Vice President JD Vance warned on Tuesday (Oct 21) that Hamas would be “obliterated” if it failed to cooperate with the next phase of Gaza ceasefire talks, as Washington sought to push forward a fragile truce deal and end months of devastating conflict.
Speaking at a military base in southern Israel where US troops are monitoring the truce, Mr Vance said the ceasefire plan was “going better than expected”, but reiterated President Donald Trump’s warning that the Palestinian group would face “fast, furious and brutal force” if it resisted the plan’s terms.
The visit came as Israel and Hamas traded accusations of breaching the ceasefire, signed eight days ago, over the pace of returning hostage bodies, bringing in aid and reopening border crossings.
VANCE VISITS ISRAEL AMID SHAKY TRUCE
Mr Vance, who will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, said he remained optimistic that the truce could hold and pave the way for deeper regional cooperation.
He suggested that more Gulf states could eventually seek to normalise relations with Israel, while cautioning that a full implementation of the ceasefire plan would take “a very, very long time”.
The United States, along with mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, is pushing both sides towards a more complex second phase of negotiations that would require concessions previously seen as deal-breakers.
Mr Trump’s 20-point plan calls for the disarmament of Hamas, a concurrent Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a roadmap towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.
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