US weighs sending Vance to Israel in coming days to discuss next phases of Gaza deal
Vice president may be joined by Witkoff, Kushner later in the visit, US official says; Hostages Forum invites him to stop by Hostages Square, meet with families
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The White House is considering sending US Vice President JD Vance to Israel on Monday or Tuesday to hold meetings with top Israeli officials on implementing the next phases of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, a US official told The Times of Israel on Saturday.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and fellow adviser to US President Donald Trump Jared Kushner were initially slated to head the American delegation, the official said, adding that they were still slated to join Vance at some point on his trip.
According to Channel 12 news, Vance will also discuss progress toward completing the initial phase of the ceasefire deal, which came into effect on Friday, October 10.
The first phase of the deal required Hamas to release the remaining 20 living hostages and return all the bodies of the 28 deceased hostages accessible to it, within the first 72 hours after the IDF’s withdrawal to the so-called Yellow Line inside Gaza.
But more than a week into the ceasefire, Hamas has only returned 10 bodies, and announced plans to return another two on Saturday night, insisting that it is finding it difficult to locate others due to the level of destruction across the Gaza Strip.
Israel has accused Hamas of lying, with senior officials insisting Hamas could return a greater number than it has so far provided.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum welcomed the report that Vance would be visiting Israel, and invited him, along with Witkoff, to meet with the families of the deceased hostages and visit Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square during the trip.
“Your visit to Israel gives us hope,” the families of deceased hostages still held in Gaza said in a letter to the two US officials. “We fear that our loved ones will be forgotten, and that their fate will remain unknown for decades or even forever.”
Thanking Trump and the US administration for “the 30 hostages who were returned to us for rehabilitation and burial,” the forum pleaded for Washington to “help us finish the mission and bring our 18 loved ones home.”
Witkoff, along with Kushner, visited Hostages Square last weekend to meet with the families of the hostages and delivered the opening address at the weekly rally, which organizers had hoped would be the last of its kind.
“Miracles can happen,” the US envoy declared then to thunderous applause.
While Trump was also invited to visit Hostages Square when he visited Israel himself on Monday, he was unable to make it due to time constraints and security concerns.
Instead, the president met with families of hostages and with former captives at the Knesset.
The Times of Israel Community.