Vice President J.D. Vance will arrive in Israel Tuesday to finalize Phase A of the Gaza war deal amid mounting Israeli anger over Hamas’s delay in returning fallen hostages.
Jerusalem / Washington — U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to arrive in Israel next Tuesday for a high-level diplomatic mission aimed at completing Phase A of President Donald Trump’s peace and reconstruction plan for Gaza, officials confirmed Friday night.
The three-day visit, set to conclude on Thursday, will focus on hostage recovery efforts, implementation of the ceasefire agreement, and transition arrangements toward the plan’s next phase — a move now clouded by Hamas’s failure to return the bodies of several deceased hostages.
Focus: Concluding Phase A
According to senior diplomatic sources, Vance will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and special envoy Steve Witkoff, who will accompany the visit. The discussions will aim to wrap up the first phase of the U.S.-brokered framework — which includes the release of all hostages, humanitarian coordination, and initial reconstruction protocols for Gaza.
A White House official told reporters that the Vice President’s mission is intended to “reinforce U.S. commitment to Israel’s security and ensure that every term of the ceasefire is fully implemented before advancing to Phase B.”
Tensions Over Phase B Implementation
While President Trump has publicly said that Phase B — involving political and administrative restructuring in Gaza — is “about to begin,” Jerusalem has resisted moving forward until Hamas returns all the deceased hostages still withheld in Gaza.
On Friday evening, Netanyahu ordered punitive measures against Hamas for noncompliance, including the closure of the Rafah crossing to humanitarian aid and the suspension of certain coordination mechanisms.
“Israel will not move to the next stage until every hostage — living and fallen — returns home,” a senior Israeli official told reporters.
US-Israel Coordination and Challenges
Vance’s visit is expected to include joint security briefings at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv and a visit to a military base overseeing Gaza border operations.
Envoy Steve Witkoff, who has played a key role in shaping the Trump administration’s 20-point Gaza framework, will accompany the Vice President to streamline coordination between Washington and Jerusalem.
“The United States stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel in ensuring that Hamas meets its commitments,” Witkoff said earlier this week. “No agreement can stand on broken promises.”
Background: The Trump Plan
The Trump peace and stabilization plan, announced earlier this year, outlines a multi-stage roadmap:
- Phase A: Hostage releases, ceasefire enforcement, and basic humanitarian rebuilding.
- Phase B: Governance transition involving a technocratic Palestinian administration under U.S.-Israeli supervision.
- Phase C: Long-term security arrangements and regional normalization under the expanded Abraham Accords.
Vance’s upcoming visit will serve as a litmus test for whether Phase B can proceed — or whether Hamas’s violations will trigger Israeli and U.S. countermeasures, including the renewal of targeted operations in Gaza.
