Vance Heads to Israel

Vice President JD Vance is expected to visit the Middle East on Tuesday to push the second phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as it teeters on renewed violence from the terror group.

Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire on Sunday after militants appeared out of a tunnel in Israeli-controlled territory in Gaza and killed two Israeli soldiers in an anti-tank rocket attack. In response, the Israeli military launched around 20 airstrikes across Gaza, according to Axios.

In addition to the attack, Hamas continues to be in violation of phase one of the ceasefire deal by failing to return all the bodies of the deceased hostages. About half of the deceased remain in Gaza, and the terror group has said it needs more time to locate them.

The United States and Israel have made separate accusations against the terror group in recent days of violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement that saw Israel withdraw from roughly half of Gaza and release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The actions of Hamas militants inside and outside its zone of control in the Gaza Strip have strained the already tenuous ceasefire in place between the terror group and Israel. Vance is expected to visit Israel with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff to provide more direct oversight of the terms of the peace agreement.