US officials pressure Netanyahu to uphold Gaza ceasefire amid growing concerns

The Washington administration is concerned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will end the ceasefire in Gaza and restart the war.

Amid these concerns, US Vice President JD Vance has traveled to Israel, following visits from President Donald Trump’s Special Representative Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The American delegation’s agenda includes both ensuring the continuation of the ceasefire and discussing the second phase of Trump’s Gaza plan. This second phase includes topics such as the deployment of an international force in Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.

According to a report in the New York Times, concerns are growing among officials in Washington that Netanyahu will actively oppose the agreement.

The report predicts that US Vice President JD Vance and special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will pressure Netanyahu not to undermine the agreement during their visit to Israel.

‘Risking the ceasefire is unacceptable’

According to a report by Israel-based Channel 12 television, citing sources, Witkoff and Kushner met with Netanyahu yesterday and urged him not to take any steps that could jeopardize the ceasefire.

The representatives reportedly told Netanyahu that it would be unacceptable for him to risk the ceasefire, even on the grounds of “self-defense.”

According to the report, the delegation said, “Do not act in a way that endangers the ceasefire. We want to do everything to reach the second phase.”

US Vice President JD Vance also arrived in Israel today with the same agenda.

It was stated that the visit will address “the completion of the first phase of the agreement to end the war in Gaza and the transition to the second phase.”

Preparations for the second phase have begun

Meanwhile, according to the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Witkoff and Kushner met with the Head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Shlomi Binder, and the Head of the Israel Defense Forces Planning Directorate, Eyal Harel, as part of their visit to Israel.

During the meeting, they discussed preparations for the second phase of the ceasefire plan, which includes the deployment of international forces in Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.

Israeli officials expressed their concern about the tunnels that remain in large parts of the Gaza Strip and requested that international forces destroy them.

Witkoff and Kushner, in turn, conveyed a message from mediators Qatar, Türkiye, and Egypt to the Israeli side, stating that the incident in Rafah where two Israeli soldiers were killed was “not directed or coordinated by Hamas.”

In response, Israeli officials called for “accelerating efforts to recover the bodies of Israeli captives and for Hamas to fulfill its obligations and return the bodies.”

The report also noted that the reconstruction of Gaza is contingent on the return of all bodies and the disarmament of Hamas.

Talks with Türkiye to find the bodies

The New York Times report also noted that talks are underway with Türkiye to send a team of experts in body recovery to help find the missing bodies of captives in Gaza.

The report conveyed that Hamas claims to be having difficulty locating 15 individuals said to be in the Gaza Strip.

Following an explosion in Rafah, in southern Gaza, on October 19 that killed two Israeli soldiers, the Israeli army conducted airstrikes on various areas.

Hamas’s armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, announced that they are committed to the ceasefire and have no connection to the incident in Rafah.