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Vance downplays Hamas attacks on Israel during ceasefire

Vice President JD Vance suggests Hamas violations of Gaza ceasefire and Israeli retaliations are inevitable but insists White House’s plan is the “best chance” for long-term peace in the region.

By World Israel News Staff

Vice President JD Vance downplayed the Hamas attacks on Israel in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, arguing that such violations of the 10-day-old ceasefire were inevitable and should not mark the end of the administration’s Gaza peace plan.

On Sunday, Vance fielded questions from reporters regarding the spate of Hamas attacks on IDF forces in Gaza that day that left two soldiers dead and three wounded.

Vance claimed that such attacks are likely to occur, as are Israeli retaliatory strikes.

“Hamas is going to fire on Israel. Israel is going to have to respond,” Vance said.

Nevertheless, he emphasized that the administration’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza remains the most viable path to a “sustainable peace.”

“So we think that it has the best chance for a sustainable peace. But even if it does that, it’s going to have hills and valleys, and we’re going to have to monitor the situation,” he said.

Echoing comments by President Donald Trump Sunday night that the Hamas attacks were likely conducted by rogue terror cells without the approval of the terror organization’s central command, Vance expressed optimism that some Hamas cells in Gaza will “probably” adhere to the ceasefire.

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“You’re talking about 40 different cells. It’s disjointed. Some of those cells will probably honor the ceasefire. Many of those cells, as we saw some evidence of today, will not,” Vance said.

Responding to reports that he is slated to head up the US delegation to Israel on Tuesday, Vance refused to confirm or deny his participation. “We want to go and check on how things are going. And I think somebody from the administration is certainly going to be over there in the next few days. It might be me, but we’re going to figure out how to travel there.”

The US delegation is expected to press both Israel and Hamas to move forward with the implementation of the second phase of the peace plan, despite the attacks on Sunday and Hamas’ failure to return all of the slain hostages held in Gaza.

Vance said that the peace deal would take time to implement, noting that the mechanism to ensure Hamas compliance with its obligation to disarm has not yet been created.

“I think it would be kind of absurd for the president to say, ‘Well, Hamas is going to be disarmed three or four days from now.’

“The Gulf Arab states, our allies, don’t have the security infrastructure in place yet to confirm that Hamas is disarmed.”