WASHINGTON (TNND) -- Vice President J.D. Vance met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday as the United States works to stabilize the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The visit comes amid growing frustration in Israel over what officials call Hamas's failure to uphold key parts of the truce agreement.
"We're here to talk about how to ensure that the peace agreement that started about a week ago sticks," Vance said during the meeting in Jerusalem.
Israeli officials say Hamas has yet to begin the process of disarmament -- a central condition of the deal -- and that not all hostages have been returned as of Wednesday afternoon, 13 bodies of hostages remained in Gaza.
"There are many families still suffering," said Jonathan Harounoff, Israel's international spokesperson to the United Nations. "While some people are celebrating the return of all the hostages, it's not true. There are still many who haven't been returned. Israel will do whatever it takes to bring every single one home."
The ceasefire faced a serious test over the weekend after a series of skirmishes in Gaza prompted both sides to accuse the other of violating the agreement.
"It's certainly fragile," Harounoff acknowledged. "Israel has been abundantly clear from the outset that it plans to abide by the terms of the agreement."
The Trump administration has dispatched a wave of high-level officials to the region in recent days. Special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Israel last weekend, followed by the vice president on Tuesday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to arrive on Thursday.
Critics accuse Washington of sending the flurry of power to "babysit" Netanyahu and ensure Israel does not resume military operations in Gaza -- an assertion Vance pushed back on.
"It's not about monitoring in the sense of, you know, you monitor a toddler. It's about monitoring in the sense that there's a lot of work, a lot of good people who are doing that work, and it's important for the principles of the administration to keep on ensuring that our people are doing what we need them to do," Vance explained.
Netanyahu, for his part, sought to project unity between Washington and Jerusalem.
"In the last year, we've had an unmatched alliance and partnership with the United States that is changing the Middle East," Netanyahu said.
Mark Walker, the U.S. Ambassador-Designate for International Religious Freedom, is also in Israel this week.
"It's unparalleled that you have the president going to a country and then literally the next week you have the A-team coming in again to make sure this process stays in place," Walker said.
Secretary Rubio is set to meet with Netanyahu on Friday, as the U.S. continues its full-court press to maintain the ceasefire.