US envoy Steve Witkoff and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner arrived in Israel Monday to reinforce a shaky ceasefire in Gaza after Hamas militants killed two Israeli soldiers in Rafah.
Following Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes on 20 Hamas targets, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu consulted top officials and agreed to resume the truce under U.S. pressure. Washington urged Jerusalem to respond “proportionately but with restraint.”
The attack threatened to unravel the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that began October 10, part of Trump’s 20-point peace plan calling for Hamas’s eventual disarmament and a technocratic transition government in Gaza.
While Israel temporarily halted aid deliveries, the U.S. pressed for their resumption. Trump told Fox News Hamas had “promised” to disarm but admitted there was “no hard timeline.”
US Vice President JD Vance is expected to arrive Tuesday to join talks aimed at keeping the ceasefire intact. Officials described the situation as “touch-and-go” but said Washington intends to “call the shots” in ensuring the deal holds.
