JD Vance: Gaza deal close, but ‘very complicated negotiation’ could still be derailed

US Vice President JD Vance says the Trump administration is “at the one-yard line” with its Gaza peace plan and is very optimistic about the chances for “punch[ing] it through the end zone,” while acknowledging that “things can get derailed at the very last minute.”

Vance’s comments to Fox News were slightly more cautious than those coming from US President Donald Trump, who told reporters Friday, “I think we have a deal on Gaza” and earlier today wrote on Truth Social that “ALL ARE ON BOARD.”

Israel has yet to sign off on the proposal, and Hamas hasn’t even been presented with it yet, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The source said that Arab countries have submitted recommended edits to the 21-point plan they were presented last week, and the US is expected to finalize the proposal today.

Trump acknowledged last week that he’ll have to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the plan can be finalized. That meeting is scheduled for tomorrow.

“There’s a very complicated negotiation happening right now between Arab leaders, between the Israelis and between the Trump administration led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio,” Vance tells Fox News.

“Those conversations are happening as we speak. They’re ongoing over the course of the past couple of days,” he adds.

“The President’s optimism is warranted here. I feel more optimistic about where we are right now than where we have been at any point in the last few months,” Vance continues. “But let’s be realistic, these things can get derailed at the very last minute. So while I remain very hopeful, I am cautiously hopeful.”

He says the US proposal accomplishes Washington’s three goals: releasing the hostages, making sure Hamas is no longer a “terror threat” to Israel and ensuring that aid can enter Gaza “for the many innocent people who are caught up in the conflict.”

The Fox News reporter then incorrectly claims that Trump said earlier this week that he would not allow Gaza to be controlled by Israel, apparently referring to the president’s assertion that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.

Vance responds to the question by saying that Trump “wants Gaza to be controlled by the people who live there. He wants the West Bank to be controlled by the people who live there, and he wants the terrorist networks that are around the Israelis to be dismantled so they can no longer pose a threat to Israel.”