WASHINGTON: US Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas is imminent.
He vowed that the Trump administration would apply all necessary pressure to ensure future stability in Gaza.
“It really should be any moment now,“ the vice president told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” when asked about the timing for the hostage release.
He added later on ABC’s “This Week”: “We expect to see them alive here in the next 24 hours, probably early tomorrow morning, US time, which will be later in the day, of course, in Israel.”
Asked on CBS’s “Face the Nation” whether Washington is committed to continuing to apply pressure to stabilise the Middle East, Vance said: “It is going to take consistent leverage and consistent pressure from the president of the United States on down.”
Speaking on a succession of Sunday morning talk shows, Vance also stressed that 200 American troops being deployed to Israel would be responsible for monitoring the ceasefire in Gaza.
He clarified these troops were never intended for any sort of combat role and would not be deployed on the ground in Palestinian territory.
“That’s everything from ensuring that the Israeli troops are at the agreed-upon line, ensuring that Hamas is not attacking innocent Israelis, doing everything that they can to ensure the peace that we’ve created, actually sustains and endures,“ Vance said on ABC.
“But the idea that we’re going to have troops on the ground in Gaza, in Israel, that that is not our intention, that is not our plan.” – AFP
