Vance admits uncertainty over Gaza

The US vice president has said the priority is security and rebuilding the enclave, but that he is unsure of future governance

US Vice President J.D. Vance has said he does not know who will ultimately govern Gaza, admitting uncertainty over the enclave’s political future amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Vance made the remarks on Tuesday while visiting a newly established coordination center in Israel. He was accompanied by President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Vance called the ceasefire progress “better” than anticipated and said he remained optimistic about prospects for a lasting deal to end the two-year war.

Asked by reporters who will govern Gaza, Vance replied: “I don’t know the answer to that question.”

“We need to reconstruct Gaza and make sure both the Palestinians living there and the Israelis can have some measure of security and stability…” he said. “Then we’ll worry about what the long-term governance of Gaza is.”

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in early October under Trump’s 20-point peace plan. On Sunday, however, violence flared again as a Palestinian attack that killed two Israeli soldiers triggered Israeli airstrikes that killed at least 28 people in Gaza. Afterwards, Israel and Hamas reaffirmed they were both committed to the ceasefire.

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Vance downplayed suggestions that his visit was hastily arranged to preserve the truce, saying he felt “confident that we’re going to be in a place where this peace lasts,” but warned that if Hamas failed to cooperate, it would be “obliterated.”

Trump has threatened to send “heavy force” into Gaza if the militant group “continues to act badly,” vowing that Hamas would be “eradicated” if it violated the terms of the deal.

Under the plan, the group is to disarm and give up control of the enclave. However, Hamas is acting as a security force there “for a period of time,” according to Trump.

After Hamas won elections in Gaza in 2006, it became embroiled in clashes with the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs parts of the occupied West Bank. Although the PA viewed Hamas as illegitimate, opinion polls at the time showed that the group enjoyed majority support. No elections have been held in the Palestinian territories since then.