Vance admits ceasefire talks 'very tough' as Trump ready to use 'heavy force' on Hamas
It comes as Israel and Hamas accused each other of breaching the fragile truce in recent days
Vice President JD Vance has admitted ceasefire talks are "very tough" after President Trump warned Hamas will face a “fast, furious and brutal” end if it violates the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
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Mr Trump said several Middle Eastern countries were prepared to send troops into Gaza "if Hamas continues to act badly, in violation of their agreement with us."
"There is still hope that Hamas will do what is right. If they do not, an end to Hamas will be FAST, FURIOUS, & BRUTAL!" he wrote on Truth Social.
It comes as Israel and Hamas accused each other of breaching the fragile truce in recent days. Israel said two of its soldiers were killed in an attack by Hamas fighters on Sunday.
Speaking from Israel, Mr Vance described the situation as “very, very tough,” but said progress was being made.
Read More: Trump insists ceasefire still in place after deadly wave of Israeli strikes
Announcing the opening of a new Civilian Military Cooperation Centre, he said: "You have Israelis and Americans working hand in hand to try to begin the plan to rebuild Gaza, to implement a long term peace, and to actually ensure that you have security forces on the ground in Gaza, not composed of Americans, who can keep the peace over the long term."
Mr Vance added: "We’ve got a lot of work left to do. This is going to take a very, very long time."
The Vice President also hit out at what he called a “weird attitude” in Western media towards the ceasefire.
“There's almost this desire to root for failure — that every time something bad happens, every time there’s an act of violence, there’s this inclination to say, ‘Oh, this is the end of the ceasefire, this is the end of the peace plan,'" he said.
“It’s not the end. It is, in fact, exactly how this is going to have to happen when you have people who hate each other, who have been fighting against each other for a very long time.”
Mr Vance said he remained optimistic that the ceasefire would hold, though he acknowledged “there are going to be hills and valleys.”
"What we’ve seen in the past week gives me great optimism the ceasefire is going to hold,” he said.
"Can I say with 100% certainty that it’s going to work? No, but you don’t do difficult things by only doing what’s 100% certain. You do difficult things by trying."