US Vice President J.D. Vance arrived in Israel today to solidify the fragile US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, which has been on the verge of collapse in recent days after outbreaks of violence and doubts about how to move forward towards achieving a lasting peace.
Israel also said today that the body of a hostage handed over by Palestinian militants overnight had been identified, while Hamas's chief negotiator said the group remained determined to implement a ceasefire agreement to end the two-year war.
Vance, who arrived in Israel after two top White House envoys, is expected to be in the region until Thursday. Vance was accompanied by his wife, Usha Vance, and is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
They will hold a press conference tonight in Jerusalem and are also expected to meet with the families of hostages whose bodies are still in Gaza, as well as with surviving hostages freed by the militants last week.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is still waiting for Hamas to hand over the remains of 15 dead hostages. Thirteen bodies have been handed over since the start of the ceasefire.
Hamas negotiators reiterated that the group is committed to efforts to end the war "once and for all."
"Since the day we signed the agreement in Sharm el-Sheikh, we have been determined and committed to implementing it to the end," Hamas's chief negotiator, Khalil al-Haya, who is in Cairo, said late last night in a statement to Egyptian Al-Qahera television.
He said the Sharm el-Sheikh summit hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and US President Donald Trump represented "international will in declaring the war in Gaza over."
Al-Haya said Hamas had received assurances from mediators and Trump that the war was over - once and for all.
He said Israel was implementing arrangements to deliver aid at the crossings under the agreement, but called on mediators to pressure Israel to deliver more shelter materials, medical equipment and winter items before the weather changes.
Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani accused Israel today of continuing to violate the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip after a series of attacks carried out by his army in the Palestinian territories.
Qatar is one of the key countries in negotiations between Israel and the militant Palestinian movement Hamas, whose officials do not negotiate personally with Jerusalem, but through their intermediaries from Doha and Cairo.
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