Israel Airport Authority announced on Monday that United States Vice President Vance will be visiting Israel on Tuesday, and preparations are underway at the Tel Aviv airport for his arrival.
According to a statement from the Israel Airport Authority on Monday, traffic around the airport is expected to be disrupted from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and some flights will be redirected to other terminals.
Vance’s visit to the Middle East comes at a crucial time for the Gaza peace plan. Since the ceasefire and prisoner release agreement between Israel and Hamas, there have been some challenges during the implementation process in the past week. It is anticipated that Vance’s trip will continue to advance US diplomatic efforts to ensure compliance with the agreement by both Israel and Hamas, aiming to prevent the collapse of the Middle East peace plan.
The initial phase of the agreement reached mainly addressed the ceasefire and prisoner release issues, but has not fully realized the peace plan proposed by Trump. Vance will face the two most challenging issues in the plan: the disarmament of Hamas and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
Some former US officials have stated that the minimum goal Vance needs to achieve on this Middle East trip is to work with other Trump envoys to persuade the Israeli government to exercise restraint when facing provocations from Hamas and ensure that humanitarian aid can enter Gaza smoothly.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) accused Hamas on Sunday of violating the ceasefire agreement by launching an anti-tank missile at the Israeli military and firing at Israeli soldiers, resulting in the death of two Israeli soldiers and injuring three others. In response, the IDF carried out a series of retaliatory airstrikes against Hamas.
However, Trump stated later on Sunday that he believed the actions allegedly violating the agreement by Hamas were carried out by “some rogue elements within the organization” and not under the directive of the leadership, hence the ceasefire agreement between the two parties remains in effect. He also stated that the US would “respond firmly and appropriately” to address these issues.
This dispute led to a temporary halt in the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza on Sunday. But the Israeli military indicated that they had begun to resume the implementation of the ceasefire agreement later that day.
Vance admitted on the eve of his trip to Israel that enforcing the ceasefire agreement is challenging. He told reporters that ensuring the agreement is implemented properly will be a complex task, as the ceasefire may be sporadic and require monitoring.