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.
Also on Tuesday, Hamas said it had recovered the remains of two more hostages and planned to hand them over on Tuesday evening.
Vance urged a ‘little bit of patience’ amid growing Israeli frustration with Hamas’ pace of the returns.
"Some of these hostages are buried under thousands of pounds of rubble. Some of the hostages, nobody even knows where they are,” Vance said. "It’s just a reason to counsel in favor of a little bit of patience.”
He added that "a lot of this work is very hard" as he faced questions over the next steps, and he urged flexibility.
The cease-fire took effect on Oct. 10. While it has been tested by Israel's attacks and mutual accusations of violations, both Israel and Hamas have said they are committed to the deal. Trump has made clear he wants it to succeed.
The head of Egypt’s intelligence agency, Maj. Gen. Hassan Rashad traveled to Israel on Tuesday to meet with Netanyahu, Witkoff and others over the cease-fire's implementation, according to Netanyahu’s office.
The meetings highlight the urgency of launching negotiations for the second phase of the U.S. plan, which must address issues such as the disarmament of Hamas and the governance of postwar Gaza.
Hamas negotiators reiterated that the group is committed to ensuring the war "ends once and for all.”
"From the day we signed the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, we were determined and committed to seeing it through to the end,” Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, who is in Cairo, told Egypt’s Al-Qahera News television late Monday.
Israel confirmed that Hamas had released the body of Tal Haimi, who was killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. He was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak.
Under the terms of the cease-fire, Israel is waiting for Hamas to turn over the remains of 15 hostages. Thirteen others have been turned over.
Under the deal, Israel is releasing 15 Palestinian bodies for the remains of each dead hostage, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It said Israel had transferred another 15 on Tuesday, for a total of 165 since earlier this month.
International organizations said they were scaling up humanitarian aid entering Gaza, while Hamas-led security forces launched a crackdown against what it called price gouging by private merchants.
The World Food Program said it had sent more than 530 trucks into Gaza in the past 10 days, enough to feed nearly half a million people for two weeks. That's still well under the 500 to 600 that entered daily before the war.
The WFP also said it had reinstated 26 distribution points and hopes to scale up to its previous 145 points across Gaza as soon as possible.
Residents said prices for essential goods soared on Sunday after Israel claimed Hamas killed two Israeli soldiers – a claim rejected by Hamas – and Israel responded with strikes that killed dozens of Palestinians. Israel also threatened to halt humanitarian aid.
At a market in the central city of Deir al-Balah, a 25-kilogram (55-pound) package of flour was selling for more than $70 on Sunday, up from about $12 shortly after the cease-fire. By Tuesday, the price was around $30.
Mohamed al-Faqawi, a Khan Younis resident, accused merchants of taking advantage of the perilous security situation. "They are exploiting us,” he said.
On Monday, Hamas said its security forces raided shops across Gaza, closing at least 10 shops and warehouses, and forcing merchants to lower prices. Hamas has also imposed more order, allowing aid trucks to move safely and halting the looting of deliveries.
Nahed Sheheiber, head of Gaza’s private truckers’ union, said there was no stealing aid since the cease-fire started.
But other significant challenges remain as Gaza's financial system is in tatters. With nearly every bank branch and ATM inoperable, people pay exorbitant commissions to a network of cash brokers to get money for daily expenses.
On Tuesday, dozens of people in Deir al-Balah spent hours in line at the Bank of Palestine, hoping to access their money, but were turned away.
"Without having the bank open and without money, it does not matter that the prices (in the market) have dropped,” said Kamilia Al-Ajez.
A senior health official in Gaza said some bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel bore "evidence of torture” and called for a United Nations-launched investigation.
So far, only 32 of the bodies have been identified, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Dr. Muneer al-Boursh, the ministry's general director, said on social media late Monday that some had evidence of being bound with ropes and metal shackles, blindfolds, deep wounds, abrasions, burns and crushed limbs.
It was not immediately clear if any of the bodies had been prisoners; they were returned without identifications or details on how they died. The bodies could include Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli custody or bodies taken out of Gaza by Israeli troops during the war.
The Israel Prisons Service denied that prisoners had been mistreated, saying it had followed legal procedures and provided medical care and "adequate living conditions,” despite evidence proving otherwise.
