LAST UPDATE | 21 Oct 2025

US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has threatened to “eradicate” Hamas if it breaches its ceasefire deal with Israel.

Vice President JD Vance arrived in Tel Aviv today with his wife Usha in an attempt to bolster the fragile Gaza truce, which has already been breached. 

His plane landed in Shannon Airport in the early hours of this morning while en route to Israel.

The Trump administration has redoubled its efforts to cement the peace agreement it helped to broker, after Israel accused Hamas of stalling the handover of hostages’ bodies and deadly violence flared up in the territory over the weekend.

“We made a deal with Hamas that they’re going to be very good, they’re going to behave, they’re going to be nice,” Trump told reporters at the White House yesterday.

“If they’re not, we’re going to go and we’re going to eradicate them, if we have to. They’ll be eradicated, and they know that.”

Both sides have said they are committed to the US-backed truce despite the weekend’s violence.

We made a deal with Hamas that they're going to be very good, they're going to behave, they're going to be nice, the US President told reporters yesterday. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Israel has identified the remains of a hostage that Hamas handed over yesterday, taking the total to 13 of the 28 it had pledged to return.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that Hamas had to make good on its commitment to return the remains of all the hostages in order to implement the ceasefire agreement.

“We will not compromise on this and will spare no effort until we return all of the deceased hostages, every last one of them,” the statement said.

Hamas has said it needs more time and technical assistance to complete the recovery of the bodies.

Netanyahu said he and Vance would hold discussions on “two things… the security challenges we face and the diplomatic opportunities before us”. Vance is expected to remain in Israel until Thursday.

His visit follows that of two top White House envoys. After his arrival, Vance held a working meeting at the airport with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump ’s former White House adviser and son-in-law.

Rocky deal implementation

The ceasefire, which went into effect on 10 October, established an outline for hostage and prisoner exchanges, and proposed a roadmap for Gaza’s future. But its implementation has quickly faced challenges.

Israel carried out dozens of strikes in Gaza on Sunday using 153 tons of explosives. Netanyahu said the strikes were targeting Hamas after two Israeli soldiers were killed in the territory’s south. Gaza’s civil defence agency said the strikes killed at least 45 people across the territory.

The body of four-year-old Palestinian Ahmed Weshah lies next to that of his mother, Afaf Abu Jahjouh, 28, who were both killed in an Israeli military strike on Sunday. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The Israeli prime minister accused the militant group of “a blatant violation” of the ceasefire, an accusation it denied.

Trump said American forces would not be involved against Hamas, but added that “Israel would go in in two minutes, if I asked them to go in.

“But right now, we haven’t said that. We’re going to give it a little chance,” he added.

The Gazan civil defence agency said four people were also killed by Israeli gunfire in Gaza City yesterday. Israel’s military said it had fired at militants who crossed a ceasefire line.

Under Trump’s 20-point plan, Israeli forces have withdrawn beyond the so-called “Yellow Line” – which leaves them in control of around half of Gaza, including the territory’s borders, but not its main cities.

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Israeli troops have fired on Gazans they say were approaching their new positions several times since the ceasefire was declared.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean journalists are unable to independently verify details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

‘Renewed enforcement’

The military said that after carrying out Sunday’s strikes in response to the attack on its soldiers, it had “renewed enforcement of the ceasefire” but would “respond firmly to any violation”.

Hamas denied knowledge of any attack, with one official accusing Israel of fabricating “pretexts” to resume the war.

The Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. 

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 68,216 people in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry, figures the United Nations considers credible.

The data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.

With reporting from © AFP 2025 

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