Israel-Gaza live updates: Vance arrives at Netanyahu’s office after asking for patience as hostages return

Vice President JD Vance and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Tel Aviv, Israel, to discuss the US-Israel partnership and next steps for the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

“These days of destiny” is what Vance and Netanyahu call this stage of the Gaza peace plan, hinting at the enormous task that must be accomplished to “disarm Hamas” and “rebuild Gaza.”

“We have a very, very difficult task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but rebuild Gaza to improve the lives of the people of Gaza, but also ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel,” Vance said.

Both leaders also commented on suggestions that Israel controls the United States or that the United States controls Israel. Netanyahu called the assumption “nonsense” and reaffirmed that both the United States and Israel are committed to a “partnership” even if they have “disagreements, here and there.”

“We have a partnership, an alliance of partners who share common values ​​and goals. We can have conversations,” he said. “We may have disagreements here and there. But overall, I have to say that last year we had agreements.”

Vance added to the prime minister’s comments, saying that Israel is neither a client state nor a vassal, but is still committed to the US-Israel partnership. He added that he sees Israel playing a leading role in the Middle East and North Africa, so that “the United States couldn’t care less about the Middle East.”

Vance said he is hopeful that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will hold, but he said there will be a lot of work ahead.

“It’s not easy. I never said it was easy, but what I am is optimistic that the ceasefire will hold and that we can really build a better future across the Middle East,” Vance said.

-Alex Ederson and Somayeh Malekian of ABC News