The vice president said that while he can't have "100% certainty that it's going to work," he has "great optimism the ceasefire is going to hold."

Special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law and businessman Jared Kushner arrived in Israel on Monday morning to bolster the ceasefire agreement and to continue implementation of the second phase of Trump's 20-point Gaza plan.

It is extremely rare for a foreign leader - even the US President (or a Vice President as close to him as Vance) - to hold a working meeting with the Israeli Chief of Staff. US Vice President JD Vance will meet with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.

"We have to be a little bit flexible. I think what you're seeing from our Gulf Arab friends, certainly from our Israeli friends, is a certain amount of impatience with Hamas."

The US president says a "heavy force" could go into Gaza "if Hamas continues to act badly", as the vice-president is expected to push Netanyahu on long-term peace negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Hamas had violated the ceasefire and vowed to go "forcefully" after Hamas terrorists. On Sunday, he decided to close all crossings to the Gaza Strip and halt the delivery of humanitarian aid in response to Hamas' violation of the ceasefire.