US Officials Intensify Efforts to Maintain Gaza Ceasefire

A cohort of top US officials is pushing hard to maintain the ceasefire in Gaza, but the truce has begun to show cracks as violence and mutual accusations escalate. This comes at a critically sensitive time, where the lives of many in Gaza and Israel are at stake. Following a trip by US President Trump’s special envoy, Witkov, and his son-in-law, Kushner, US Vice President Pence arrived in Israel on Tuesday. Pence’s visit comes as Netanyahu ordered widespread airstrikes over the past weekend and briefly cut off aid to Gaza, claiming the move was in response to a Hamas attack that killed two Israeli soldiers. Israeli media reported that the latest round of escalation ended after pressure from Witkov and Kushner. The two are seen as key figures in brokering the US-backed Gaza ceasefire agreement. Pence is expected to meet with Netanyahu. According to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu also met with the head of Egyptian intelligence on Tuesday. Under Trump’s peace plan, Hamas has released the last batch of 20 surviving Israeli hostages it held from its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel; in return, Israel released 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and withdrew from about half of the Gaza area. The plan also called for Israel to allow large amounts of food and medicine into the devastated enclave. Although Hamas has so far handed over the remains of 13 dead hostages, it said it needs more time to recover another 15 bodies still buried under rubble, sparking anger from far-right Israeli politicians opposed to the ceasefire. Pence’s trip coincides with the parties preparing to negotiate the next stage of the agreement, which is expected to be significantly more difficult. Under Trump’s peace plan, Hamas would disarm, and a foreign stabilization force would take over security while the Israeli military withdraws to a smaller buffer zone, thereby ending hostilities. The deal also calls for the launch of Gaza reconstruction under the supervision of an as-yet-unformed international and Palestinian governing body. Hamas’s chief negotiator and de facto leader, Khalil al-Hayya, said on Tuesday that the organization is sticking to the ceasefire and operating with guarantees from the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, believing that the two-year conflict is indeed over. In a statement posted on Hamas’s official social media, he said: “The information we have heard from the mediators and the US president makes us certain that the Gaza war is over. We are committed to recovering all the remains of the Israelis held, but we are currently facing great difficulties in recovering the bodies and are continuing to make efforts.” Netanyahu is under pressure from members of his far-right coalition government to break the ceasefire and resume the war until Hamas is destroyed. The New York Times quoted unnamed sources as saying that Pence’s visit is partly aimed at preventing the Israeli prime minister from resuming the conflict. An Israeli official declined to comment. It is worth noting that the Netanyahu government has a “track record” in this regard, as it broke a previous US-backed ceasefire in March and resumed the conflict. Further analysis will be needed to determine the long-term consequences of these actions on regional stability. We can examine how similar events in the past have impacted international relations, but that is beyond the scope of this analysis.