TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — US Vice President J.D. Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday to consolidate the Fragile US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza which has faltered in recent days following an explosion of deadly violence and questions about how to move forward with the plan to cement long-term peace.
Also on Tuesday, Israel said it had identified the body of a hostage who was freed by Palestinian militants overnight, while Hamas’s chief negotiator said the group remained committed to implementing the ceasefire agreement to end two-year war.
Vance, accompanied by his wife, Usha Vance, will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is expected to remain in the region until Thursday. His visit follows that of two senior envoys from the White House. After his arrival, Vance held a working meeting at the airport with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump former White House advisor and son-in-law.
Vance is scheduled to hold a news conference Tuesday evening in Jerusalem and is also expected to meet with the families of hostages whose bodies are still being held in Gaza and some of the living hostages freed by militants last week. Earlier Tuesday, Witkoff and Kushner met in Tel Aviv with nine hostages released from captivity last week.
Israel identifies another hostage body
Israel confirmed Hamas released body of slain Tal Haimi Attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023 which sparked the war. He was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, on the Gaza border. The 42-year-old was a fourth-generation resident of the kibbutz and part of its emergency response team. He had four children, including one born after the attack.
Under terms of ceasefire, Israel still waiting for Hamas to turn around the remains of 15 deceased hostages. Thirteen bodies have been released since the start of the ceasefire.
The Gaza Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, said Israel had transferred the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza as part of the ceasefire. The International Committee of the Red Cross handed over the bodies to the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, in the south of the country, he said.
These new arrivals bring to 165 the number of bodies returned by Israel to Gaza since the exchanges began at the beginning of the month, according to the Ministry of Health.
Hamas says it is determined to end the war
After trade strikes earlier this weekHamas negotiators reiterated that the group is determined to ensure the war “ends once and for all.”
“From the day we signed the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, we were determined and determined to see it through to the end,” Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, who is in Cairo, told Egyptian television Al-Qahera News on Monday evening.
He said the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, hosted by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and US President Donald Trump, represented “an international will declaring that the war in Gaza is over.”
Al-Hayya said Hamas has received assurances from mediators and Trump that “give us assurance that the war is definitely over.”
He said Israel had met aid deliveries to the crossings in accordance with the agreement, but asked mediators to pressure Israel to provide more shelter, medical supplies and winterizing items before the weather changed.
Separately, the head of Egypt’s intelligence services visited Israel on Tuesday to meet with Israeli officials and Witkoff regarding the implementation of the ceasefire, according to Egyptian media.
2 Israeli soldiers and 45 Palestinians reportedly killed
On Sunday, the Israeli military said militants fired on troops, killing two Israeli soldiers in the Rafah areas of southern Gaza, which are under Israeli control under agreed ceasefire lines.
Israel’s retaliatory strikes have killed 45 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Strip’s Health Ministry, which says a total of 80 people have been killed since the ceasefire took effect.
Similar strikes took place Monday in Gaza City and Khan Younis, where Israel said militants had crossed the yellow ceasefire line and posed an “immediate threat” to its troops.
The Israeli military said Monday it was using concrete barriers and painted posts to more clearly demarcate the so-called Yellow Line in Gaza, where troops have withdrawn. He said several cases of violence occurred.
Also on Tuesday, Qatar, a key mediator in the ceasefire, denounced Israel in a speech by its ruling emir. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said his country would continue to mediate while the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is maintained.
Sheikh Tamim specifically denounced Israel for its “continued ceasefire violations” in Gaza, as well as its expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Gaza doctors say bodies returned with evidence of torture
A senior health official in the Gaza Strip said the bodies of Palestinians Israel returned to Gaza as part of the ceasefire deal bore “evidence of torture” and called for an investigation.
Israel returned 150 Palestinian bodies to Gaza as part of the ceasefire agreement, which demanded the release of all Israeli hostages – living and deceased – in exchange for the release of more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and numerous Palestinian bodies.
So far, only 32 of the returned bodies have been identified, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Dr. Muneer al-Boursh, director general of the Health Ministry, said in a social media post Monday evening that some of the bodies returned with evidence of being tied with ropes and metal chains, blindfolds, deep wounds, abrasions, burns and crushed limbs.
“What happened constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity,” he said, calling on the United Nations to launch an “urgent and independent international investigation.”
The Israeli Prison Service has denied that the prisoners were mistreated.
“All prisoners are held in accordance with legal procedures and their rights, including access to medical care and adequate living conditions, are respected by professionally trained staff,” a prison service spokesperson said.
Israeli hostages released from Gaza also reported being bound by metal chains and subjected to harsh conditions, including frequent beatings and starvation.
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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
