US Vice-President JD Vance has arrived in Israel as part of the Trump administration's efforts to strengthen the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
He is expected to push the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to start negotiations on long-term issues for a permanent end to the war with Hamas.
The two special US envoys who helped negotiate the deal, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, also held talks with Netanyahu on Monday.
Their visits come after a flare-up of violence on Sunday that threatened to derail the 12-day-old truce. Israel said a Hamas attack killed two soldiers, triggering Israeli airstrikes that killed dozens of Palestinians.
US President Donald Trump insisted on Monday that the ceasefire was still on track but also warned Hamas that it would be eradicated if it violated the deal.
Trump is said to have dispatched his deputy and envoys to Israel to keep up the momentum and push for the start of talks on the second critical phase of his 20-point Gaza peace plan.
This would involve setting up an interim government in the Palestinian territory, deploying an international stabilization force, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and disarmament of Hamas.
Vance, Witkoff, and Kushner are also attempting to ensure the ceasefire deal, based on the first phase of the peace plan, does not collapse first.
Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament on Monday that he would discuss security challenges and political opportunities with Vance during his visit.
He stated that Israeli forces had dropped 153 tonnes of bombs on Gaza in response to what he called a blatant breach of the ceasefire by Hamas on Sunday.
Hamas's chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, reiterated their commitment to the ceasefire deal and expressed hope for a return to peace, emphasizing their determination to fulfill the terms of the agreement.
Despite the tensions, there has been some progress with Hamas returning bodies of deceased Israeli hostages as part of the ongoing negotiations.
