Vance announces opening of US-Israel Civilian Military Cooperation Center to rebuild Gaza

Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday announced the opening of the U.S.-Israel Civilian Military Cooperation Center in Israeli city of Kiryat Gat to rebuild Gaza.

“We are one week into President Trump’s historic peace plan in the Middle East, and things are going, frankly, better than I expected that they were,” Vance said, The according to The Times of Israel.

He spoke days after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian-backed Hamas to end their war in Gaza.

"Here at the civilian-military cooperation center, which we are announcing the opening of, you have Israelis and Americans working hand-in-hand to try to begin the plan to rebuild Gaza, to implement a long-term peace, and to actually ensure that you have security forces on the ground in Gaza, not composed of Americans, who can keep the peace over the long term,” he continued.

Vance also said that there is “lots of work left to do” and that “this is going to take a very, very long time,” while praising the efforts of U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump adviser Jared Kushner, and Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the U.S. Central Command, on the deal’s implementation.

After opening remarks, Vance was asked how likely it is that the ceasefire will hold, the BBC reported.

He said that the past week has given him "great optimism."

Vance added that there will be times when it appears that it isn't going well, which will require mediation, supervision, and monitoring.

"Right now, I feel very optimistic," he said, as the ceasefire is "in a very good place."

"Can I say with 100% certainty that it's going to work, no," Vance added. But difficult things aren't 100% certain, he said.

When asked about Hamas returning the remains of all the deceased Israeli hostages, Vance said that it's a "focus" to return the bodies to their families so proper burials can take place.

"This is difficult, this is not going to happen overnight," he added, explaining that some of the hostages are buried under thousands of pounds of rubble, while the whereabouts of others are completely unknown.

"This is going to take a little bit of time," Vance said.

He also explained that neither he nor Trump will set a specific deadline for Hamas to disarm, and that part of achieving disarmament is setting up an international security force to make Gaza safe.

Vance said, "I don't know" what the ultimate leadership in Gaza could look like, but that they're creating a governance structure "that is very flexible" to what happens in the future.

He added that Palestinians living in Gaza and the Israelis need to be able to live in stability and security, then "we'll worry about the long-term governance of Gaza."