President Donald Trump’s administration is increasingly concerned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could jeopardise the Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas, US media reported on Tuesday.
The New York Times, citing anonymous White House officials, said Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel aims to put pressure on Netanyahu to abide by the ceasefire in Gaza and “add an extra symbolic layer to illustrate the administration’s commitment to keeping the deal intact.”
US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, already landed in Israel on Monday for talks with Netanyahu and other officials on the implementation of the deal.
A senior US official told the US daily that both Witkoff and Kushner believe that the ceasefire deal is “in danger of falling apart.”
The two envoys’ strategy in Israel is “to try to keep Netanyahu from resuming an all-out assault against Hamas,” the sources said.
The Times said that the talks of Witkoff and Kushner in Israel focused on “some of the trickier areas that were left undefined in their initial deal,” such as the formation of a stabilisation force and the disarmament of Hamas.
Breaching ceasefire deal
Israel launched a series of deadly air strikes across Gaza on Sunday, killing at least 44 Palestinians after alleging that Hamas had attacked its troops in the southern city of Rafah.
The Palestinian resistance group denied any involvement and reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire.
Trump has already affirmed that the Gaza ceasefire remains effective despite the Israeli strikes.
The ceasefire deal took effect on October 10 in Gaza, based on a phased plan presented by Trump.
Phase one included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Since October 2023, the Israeli genocidal war has killed over 68,200 people and wounded more than 170,200, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
