Vance is optimistic about Gaza ceasefire but notes 'very hard' work to come

KIRYAT GAT, Israel (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday called progress in Gaza’s fragile ceasefire better than anticipated but acknowledged during an Israel visit the challenges that remain, from disarming Hamas to rebuilding a land devastated by two years of war.

Vance noted flareups of violence in recent days but said the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that began on Oct. 10 is going “better than I expected.” The Trump administration's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, added that “we are exceeding where we thought we would be at this time.”

They visited a new center in Israel for civilian and military cooperation as questions remain over the long-term plan for peace, including when and how an international security force will deploy to Gaza and who will govern the territory after the war.

Vance tried to downplay any idea that his visit — his first as vice president — was urgently arranged to keep the ceasefire in place. He said he feels “confident that we’re going to be in a place where this peace lasts,” but warned that if Hamas doesn’t cooperate, it will be “obliterated.”

Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and one of the architects of the ceasefire agreement, noted its complexity: “Both sides are transitioning from two years of very intense warfare to now a peacetime posture."

Vance is expected to stay in the region until Thursday and meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu fired his national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, but gave no reason for the decision. Israeli media said Hanegbi had opposed the renewal of Israel’s Gaza offensive in March, and Israel’s failed attempt to assassinate Hamas’ leadership in an airstrike in Qatar in September. In a statement, Hanegbi noted “times of disagreement” with Netanyahu.

Late Tuesday, Israel’s military said the remains of two more Gaza hostages had been returned to Israel, where they would be identified.

Since the ceasefire began on Oct. 10, the remains of 15 hostages have been returned to Israel. Another 13 still need to be recovered in Gaza and handed over.

On his visit to Israel Tuesday, Vance urged a “little bit of patience” amid Israeli frustration with Hamas’ pace of returning the hostages.

“Some of these hostages are buried under thousands of pounds of rubble. Some of the hostages, nobody even knows where they are,” Vance said.

Israel is releasing 15 Palestinian bodies for the remains of each dead hostage, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It said Tuesday that Israel had so far transferred 165 bodies since earlier this month.

As he faced journalists' questions over the ceasefire's next steps, he said “a lot of this work is very hard" and urged flexibility.

“Once we’ve got to a point where both the Gazans and our Israeli friends can have some measure of security, then we’ll worry about what the long-term governance of Gaza is," he said. "Let’s focus on security, rebuilding, giving people some food and medicine.”

Although some 200 U.S. troops were recently sent to Israel, Vance emphasized that they would not be on the ground in Gaza. But he said officials are beginning to "conceptualize what that international security force would look like" for the territory.

He mentioned Turkey and Indonesia as countries expected to participate. The flags of Jordan, Germany, Britain and Denmark were on the stage where he spoke. Britain said late Tuesday it would send a small contingent of military officers to Israel to assist in monitoring the ceasefire.

While the ceasefire has been tested by fighting and mutual accusations of violations, both Israel and Hamas have said they are committed to the deal.

International organizations said they were scaling up humanitarian aid entering Gaza, while Hamas-led security forces cracked down against what it called price gouging by private merchants.

The World Food Program said it had sent more than 530 trucks into Gaza in the past 10 days, enough to feed nearly half a million people for two weeks. That's well under the 500 to 600 that entered daily before the war.

The WFP also said it had reinstated 26 distribution points across Gaza and hopes to scale up to its previous 145 points as soon as possible.

Residents said prices for essential goods soared on Sunday after militants killed two Israeli soldiers and Israel responded with strikes that killed dozens of Palestinians. Israel also threatened to halt humanitarian aid.

At a market in the central city of Deir al-Balah, a 25-kilogram (55-pound) package of flour was selling for more than $70 on Sunday, up from about $12 shortly after the ceasefire. By Tuesday, the price was around $30.

Mohamed al-Faqawi, a Khan Younis resident, accused merchants of taking advantage of the perilous security situation. “They are exploiting us,” he said.

On Monday, Hamas said its security forces raided shops across Gaza, closing some and forcing merchants to lower prices. Hamas also has allowed aid trucks to move safely and halted looting of deliveries.

Nahed Sheheiber, head of Gaza’s private truckers’ union, said there was no stealing aid since the ceasefire started.

But other significant challenges remain as Gaza's financial system is in tatters. With nearly every bank branch and ATM inoperable, people pay exorbitant commissions to a network of cash brokers to get money for daily expenses.

On Tuesday, dozens of people in Deir al-Balah spent hours in line at the Bank of Palestine hoping to access their money but were turned away.

“Without having the bank open and without money, it does not matter that the prices (in the market) have dropped,” said Kamilia Al-Ajez.

A senior health official in Gaza said some bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel bore “evidence of torture” and called for a United Nations investigation.

Dr. Muneer al-Boursh, the health ministry's general director, said on social media late Monday that some had evidence of being bound with ropes and metal shackles, and had deep wounds and crushed limbs.

It was not immediately clear if any of the bodies had been prisoners; they are returned without identification or details on how they died. The bodies could include Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli custody or bodies taken out of Gaza by Israeli troops during the war.

The Israel Prisons Service denied that prisoners had been mistreated, saying it had followed legal procedures and provided medical care and “adequate living conditions.”

Israeli hostages released from Gaza have also reported metal shackles and harsh conditions, including frequent beatings and starvation.

In the 2023 attack on Israel that started the war, Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people as hostages.

The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.

Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman from Tel Aviv. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Freed hostage, Avinatan Or, center, who was recently released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, is welcomed as he return from the hospital to his home in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Shilo, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

U.S. Vice President JD Vance speak to the media as Jared Kushner looks on, in Kiryat Gat, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Vice President J.D. Vance, right, and Second Lady Usha Vance arrive at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

People gather to welcome freed Israeli hostage, Avinatan Or, who was recently released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, as he return from the hospital to his home at the West Bank settlement of Shilo, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Relatives and friends attend the funeral of slain hostage Ronen Engel after his body was returned from Gaza as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas at Kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israeli soldiers move on top of a tank along the Israeli-Gaza border as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Vice President J.D. Vance arrives at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

Vice President J.D. Vance, right, and Second Lady Usha Vance arrive at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Oct. 21, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance board Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, en route to Israel. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

Vice President J.D. Vance, center, is welcomed by Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, back to camera, upon his arrival at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Oct. 21, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

Vice President J.D. Vance arrives at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Oct. 21, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

Palestinians pray over the bodies of people who were killed in an Israeli military strike on Sunday, during their funeral at Awda Hospital, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israel soldiers mourn during the funeral of comrade Staff Sergeant Itay Yavetz, killed in Gaza, in Modiin, Israel, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

The body of 4-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, before their funeral at Awda Hospital, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians collect leaflets dropped by an Israeli drone warning people to stay away from the so-called yellow line in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

After a frenetic few months of congressional redistricting efforts, President Donald Trump’s plan to reshape voting districts for partisan advantage ahead of this year’s midterm elections stands at an important juncture.

Will Republican- and Democratic-led states ramp up their remapping of U.S. House districts as new legislative sessions get underway? Or will the mid-decade redistricting frenzy fade away following Indiana’s resounding rejection of Trump’s pressure-packaged campaign?

“We’re at a crossroads to see if the mid-decade redistricting movement gains more speed or was simply an attempt by Donald Trump to impact elections that in many states fizzled,” said Jeffrey Wice, director of the Elections, Census and Redistricting Institute at New York Law School.

Virginia and Florida are two key states to watch. Democrats who lead Virginia and Republicans who lead Florida could try to swing multiple seats in their party’s favor by an aggressive redistricting. Virginia’s legislative session begins Wednesday. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to call a special session in April on congressional redistricting.

What happens next in Democratic-led Illinois and Maryland and in Kansas' Republican-led Legislature also could affect the GOP’s ability to maintain a narrow House majority in the face of political headwinds that typically favor the party out of power in midterm elections. Key lawmakers in all three of those states remain opposed to redistricting.

Trump kick-started an unusual redistricting plan in July by calling on Texas Republicans to redraw their congressional map to create more favorable districts for the party — even though there was no new census data to base it upon. That triggered a mid-decade redistricting battle the likes of which has not been common since the late 1800s.

Texas, Missouri and North Carolina all approved new Republican-friendly House districts. Ohio, which had to redistrict because of its state constitution, used the opportunity to enact a more favorable House map for Republicans.

But Ohio’s action on Oct. 31 marked a turning point. That same day, Virginia’s Democratic-led legislature took a first step toward redistricting. Then in November, California voters approved new House districts helping Democrats, Kansas Republicans dropped plans for a special session on redistricting, and a Utah judge adopted a new House map that benefits Democrats.

Trump suffered a stunning setback Dec. 11, when Indiana’s Republican-led Senate defeated a redistricting plan that could have helped the GOP win all nine of the state’s U.S. House seats, up from their current seven.

The net result from the 2025 jockeying could be three additional seats for Republicans. But even that is in question, because legal challenges remain in some states, and there is no guarantee that parties will win the districts they redrew.

When the Virginia General Assembly begins its annual session, the agenda will include a proposed constitutional amendment allowing mid-decade redistricting in response to other states.

The amendment, which received first-round approval in the fall, would also need to pass a statewide vote before the new districts could be implemented. Quick action would be necessary to get all that accomplished in time for candidates to run in redrawn districts later this year.

Democrats, who currently hold six of the state’s 11 U.S. House seats, have not unveiled what those new districts would look like. But some have talked of trying to gain as many as four additional seats.

Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger has embraced the redistricting effort but has not committed to a particular plan.

“I will look at any map that is kind of reasonable and keeping communities compact and together,” Spanberger, a Democrat, told The Associated Press. “But ultimately, it’s up to the people of Virginia to choose whether or not to move forward with the referendum.”

Republicans currently hold 20 of Florida’s 28 U.S. House seats. That advantage could grow if districts are reshaped during a special session.

Although Florida’s regular legislative session starts Tuesday, DeSantis said he is waiting until April to call a special redistricting session to allow time for a possible U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a key provision of the federal Voting Rights Act. If the court rules in a Louisiana case that race cannot be the predominant factor in creating voting districts, it could open the way for several Republican-led states to redraw districts represented by Black or Hispanic lawmakers who are Democrats.

DeSantis said the high court's ruling could affect “at least one or two” Florida districts.

But any redistricting that aids Republicans could face a court challenge. A voter-approved Florida constitutional provision prohibits drawing district boundaries to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent.

Some Democrats seeking to counter Trump have urged lawmakers in Illinois and Maryland to redraw their already heavily Democratic districts to try to gain one additional seat in each state. But the plans appear to lack traction as legislative sessions begin this week in both states.

Illinois House Speaker Pro Tem Kam Buckner said “there is no active push” for congressional redistricting.

“There is no appetite to reopen something that will consume enormous time, energy and, frankly, political capital without a compelling justification,” Buckner, a Democrat, told the AP.

Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has created a special commission to recommend a new congressional map. But Democratic Senate President Bill Ferguson remains opposed and insists that a majority of residents also do not want new districts.

In Kansas, some Republicans want to redraw U.S. House districts to try to gain an additional seat. But House Republicans have failed to gain the two-thirds support needed to override a likely veto by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

House Speaker Dan Hawkins told reporters that he has no plans to hold a vote on congressional redistricting during the annual legislative session that starts Monday.

“I do not have the votes,” Hawkins said.

Associated Press reporters Olivia Diaz, John Hanna, Mike Schneider and Brian Witte contributed to this story.

President Donald Trump points to the crowd as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FILE - Opponents of Missouri's Republican-backed congressional redistricting plan display a banner in protest at the State Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, File)

FILE - ndiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith announces the results of a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map, Dec. 11, 2025, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

FILE - This photo taken from video shows organizers rallying outside of the Ohio Statehouse to protest gerrymandering and advocate for lawmakers to draw fair maps in Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos, File)