Vice President JD Vance announced Thursday that an international security force “is being developed to take the lead on disarming Hamas” in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters from Ben Gurion Airport at the end of a visit aimed at reinforcing the volatile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, Vice President Vance detailed the next phase of the peace initiative outlined by President Trump last month.
Under President Trump’s September 29th 20-point peace proposal, the creation of a temporary international security force was envisioned to help stabilize the region until a permanent governing structure could be established. However, after initial optimism, progress has slowed as several potential member nations have hesitated to commit.
“That’s going to take some time, and it’s going to depend a lot on the composition of that force,” Vance said. “There are certain countries that I expect will be quite effective, and others that can contribute but may not be as useful. Much depends on which forces ultimately participate and how we implement phase two of the peace plan.”
Vance emphasized that while the international force would include troops to oversee the cease-fire and ensure stability, there would be “no American troops on the ground” in Gaza. The United States’ role, he said, will focus on mediation and diplomacy.
Originally, the peace proposal did not specify that the international force would be tasked with disarming Hamas. Its initial mission was to secure former Israeli-controlled areas of Gaza, ensure humanitarian aid delivery, prevent weapons smuggling, and train a new Palestinian police force in place of Hamas.
“Most of our discussions have been with our Gulf Arab partners and, of course, the Israelis about what this international security force will look like,” Vance explained. “That’s not primarily a conversation with Hamas. It’s between us, the Saudis, the Emiratis, the Qataris, and others who will be involved in one form or another.”
Although both sides formally agreed to the plan on October 8th, Hamas fighters reportedly attacked Israeli troops in mid-October, killing two. Israel retaliated with its own strikes, and the fragile peace began to unravel, additionally as tensions rose over Hamas’s refusal to return the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages.
Further compounding the strain, Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday passed two bills to annex the West Bank — a move explicitly prohibited under President Trump’s peace plan.
Vance criticized the legislation, calling it a “weird” and “purely symbolic” act that the United States would not support.
“The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel,” he said firmly. “That remains our policy. If people want to take symbolic votes, they can, but we certainly weren’t happy about it.”
His remarks echoed President Trump’s statements to Time magazine on October 15th, when Trump reaffirmed that Israeli annexation of the West Bank “will not happen.”
“It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries,” President Trump said. “Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”
Vance also discussed the reconstruction of Gaza, saying rebuilding efforts could begin “very quickly” in areas no longer under Hamas control. He projected that Rafah, in southern Gaza, could be rebuilt within two to three years and that displaced residents could begin moving into “Hamas-free zones” within a few months.
“You’re going to have some people move in first, then more, and hopefully within a couple of years, half a million people living securely and comfortably — and doing so without threatening their Israeli neighbors,” Vance said.
Just hours after Vance’s departure, Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
Before leaving for Israel, Rubio told reporters at Joint Base Andrews that the administration may seek a United Nations mandate for the international force.
Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, were also in Israel this week. Their presence highlights the importance of the peace plan’s success for the Trump administration.
The cease-fire agreement that took effect this month included the exchange of the final 20 Israeli hostages held in Gaza for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, along with a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory.
