Vance downplays concerns over ceasefire in visit to Israel as Trump administration officials privately worry

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/21/politics/israel-vance-trump-administration-ceasefire?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=missions&utm_source=reddit

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3 comments

  1. *Submission statement: This story concerns politics in the US as well as the Middle East. As the article says: “Vance’s presence in the region is meant, at least in part, to ensure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains committed to the US-negotiated deal as some Trump administration officials worry he could work to thwart it.”*

    >[Vice President JD Vance](https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/21/politics/israel-vance-trump-administration-ceasefire?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=missions&utm_source=reddit) downplayed concerns about the fragility of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire while speaking in Israel on Tuesday, even as some Trump administration officials are privately concerned the deal could fall apart, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

    >“What we’ve seen the past week gives me great optimism the ceasefire is going to hold,” Vance said at a news conference, adding, “I feel very optimistic. Can I say with 100% certainty that it’s going to work? No.”

    >Vance also declined to put a timeline on both the return of all Israeli hostage remains and Hamas’ disarmament, saying it will “take a little bit of time” and that security and humanitarian structures must be implemented in Gaza.

    >“If Hamas doesn’t comply with the deal, very bad things are going to happen. But I’m not going to do what the president of United States has thus far refused to do, which is put an explicit deadline on it, because a lot of this stuff is difficult,” Vance said.

  2. Vance is right here, imo, at least in regard to the recent clashes. This is pretty common with ceasefires where some fighting still happens in the aftermath. (And is especially true in the case of this conflict).

    Granted, that doesn’t mean the ceasefire will stick and a lot will depend on if Hamas is willing to disarm/leave power. It’s still quite far from a sure thing, but intermittent firing back and forth also isn’t unsurprising or necessarily a worrying sign that the deal will fail.

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