Vance Cancels Visit to Israel as military operation escalates in Gaza

A senior US official said that US Vice President J.D. Vance had planned to travel to Israel on Tuesday but decided not to due to the escalation of the Israeli military operation in Gaza.

The US official explained to the American news website Axios that Vance made the decision because he did not want Tel Aviv and the countries of the region to perceive from his visit that the Donald Trump administration supported Israel's decision to launch a large-scale military operation in the Palestinian Strip, at a time when the United States is seeking a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas.

He also said that Vance officially attributed his decision not to visit to "logistical reasons," but a US official familiar with the details told Axios that logistics were not the real issue.

On Saturday, the Trump administration informed the Israeli government that Vance was considering visiting Israel after attending the papal inauguration, according to Israeli officials.

Additional discussions took place Sunday between US and Israeli officials to prepare for the visit.

However, hours later, a White House official denied these reports in a statement to reporters accompanying the Vice President, saying, "While the Secret Service has made contingency plans for possible visits to several countries, no final decisions have been made regarding any additional visits, and logistical constraints prevented extending the trip beyond Rome." They added, "Vance will return to Washington on Monday."

On Friday, the Israeli military began mobilizing forces for an operation called "Gideon Vehicles," which calls for the evacuation of all of Gaza's approximately two million residents to a "humanitarian zone" and the demolition of most of the Strip.

On Sunday, the Israeli military announced that a ground operation had begun in several areas of the Gaza Strip.

The army's announcement came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed openness to an agreement to "end the fighting" in the Gaza Strip, provided that Hamas is excluded and Gaza is demilitarized.

T/S
ANHA