Where Does the Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire Stand? Amid Accusations of Violations, Here’s What to Know

The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, which took hold on Oct. 10, remains in place as of Wednesday afternoon, local time, despite reports of clashes in Gaza and accusations of violations from both sides.

With the U.S. eager for the cease-fire to hold, Vice President J.D. Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday morning and held meetings today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem.

Speaking at a press conference after his breakfast meeting with Netanyahu, Vance reiterated that he is "optimistic" about the cease-fire remaining in place, although admitted there is a long road ahead.

"It’s not easy. I never said it was easy. But what I am is optimistic that the cease-fire is going to hold and that we can actually build a better future for the entire Middle East. But that’s going to require some work," he told reporters.

Vance joined U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, in Israel, along with other U.S. officials. But he emphasized to press upon his arrival that his trip was not organized in response to the recent Israel-Hamas clashes and had been planned in advance.

In a further show of American support, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to arrive in Israel later this week.

On Wednesday, Vance was asked why the U.S. has such a presence on the ground in Israel if the truce is holding strong.

"It’s not about monitoring it, in the sense of monitoring a toddler," he said of the U.S. overlooking the cease-fire. "It’s important for the Administration to make sure our people continue to keep doing what we need them to do."

Netanyahu thanked the U.S. and Trump for their help in brokering the deal.

"We’ve been able to do two things. Put the knife up to Hamas’s throat. That was the military effort guided by Israel. And the other effort was to isolate Hamas and the Arab and Muslim world, which I think the President did brilliantly with his team. So those two things produced the hostages," he said.

While the truce is holding steady for now, it still appears to be somewhat fragile.

Kushner recognized the sensitive nature of the cease-fire when talking to press in Israel, saying: “Both sides are transitioning from two years of very intense warfare to now a peacetime posture.”

Tensions flared once more when Israel accused Hamas of violating the terms of the truce over the weekend, saying they targeted and killed two Israeli soldiers. Israel reported that its military personnel were targeted by Hamas in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, which is still under Israeli control. Responding to what it called Hamas' "blatant violation" of the deal, Israel launched air strikes in the territory on Sunday and temporarily suspended humanitarian aid.

Hamas has maintained it was Israel that first breached the cease-fire.

There were further threats to the cease-fire's stability on Monday morning, when the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that “terrorists” had approached Israeli troops in the Shejaiya area of northern Gaza, crossing the agreed-upon withdrawal line within the territory.

“The troops fired toward the terrorists who crossed the yellow line in order to remove the threat to them,” said the IDF. "IDF troops are deployed in the area in accordance with the cease-fire agreement, and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat."

Hamas returned two more bodies of deceased hostages to the Israeli authorities on Tuesday evening, signalling that both sides remain engaged in the cease-fire for now. But tensions remain high under the watchful eye of leaders from across the globe.

Here’s what to know about the current status of the Israel-Hamas cease-fire:

Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the cease-fire

Two IDF soldiers were killed in clashes in the Rafah area of southern Gaza on Sunday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed. The IDF claimed that "terrorists" fired an anti-tank missile as well as gunfire towards Israeli troops, accusing Hamas of violating the terms of the cease-fire. The Israeli military stated it had carried out a series of strikes in response to said violations.

TIME has contacted Netanyahu’s office for comment.

In response, the Hamas Government Media Office in Gaza accused Israel of committing 21 “violations” on Sunday, bringing the total alleged violations by Israel to 80 since the cease-fire began.

Hamas alleged on Sunday that 97 Palestinians had been killed and over 230 injured as a result of the violations. (In the absence of independent monitoring on the ground, the ministry is the primary source for casualty data relied upon by humanitarian groups, journalists, and international bodies. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants and cannot be independently verified by TIME.)

“We hold the occupation fully responsible for these violations and aggressions, and we call upon the United Nations and the guarantor parties to urgently intervene to compel the occupation to cease its continuous aggression,” Hamas said in a statement.

The clashes over the weekend came as the cease-fire already appeared to be on rocky ground.

Israel on Thursday accused Hamas of not complying with the cease-fire terms to return all of the hostages to Gaza. While all of the live hostages have returned home, Israel is awaiting the handover of all the bodies of the deceased hostages.

Hamas has reported difficulty in locating the remaining bodies, with the group citing it needs special equipment to retrieve those buried under rubble.

Per the agreement, Israel is also returning the bodies of Palestinians taken from Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war. So far, Israel has released around 150 bodies back to Gaza, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is facilitating the exchange of bodies from both sides.

Hamas said the returned Palestinian bodies showed signs of beatings and abuse—allegations the IDF has staunchly rejected.

"The IDF operates strictly in accordance with international law and the bodies returned are those of combatants," the Israeli military said in a statement to TIME on Thursday.

Read More: How the Trump Administration Sealed the Gaza Ceasefire Deal

What has Trump and his Administration said about the status of the cease-fire?

Trump has echoed Israel, accusing Hamas of committing cease-fire violations.

In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump said numerous U.S. allies in the Middle East and its surrounding areas had "explicitly and strongly, with great enthusiasm, informed me that they would welcome the opportunity, at my request, to go into Gaza with a heavy force and 'straighten our Hamas' if Hamas continues to act badly, in violation of their agreement with us."

Vance supported Trump's statement during his press conference in Israel, saying he thought the President's words were “very instructive.” He doubled down on the U.S. warning, adding: “If Hamas doesn't comply with the deal, very bad things are going to happen.”

This comes after Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday that any violations would be “handled toughly, but properly.” The President stated that Hamas has been acting “quite rambunctious.”

“I don’t believe it was the leadership, they had some rebellion in there amongst themselves and they killed some people. If they keep doing it, we’re going to go in and straighten it out,” said Trump, adding that U.S. troops would not be involved in a resumption of military action, should the cease-fire collapse.

Read More: What Trump Does—and Doesn’t—Get Credit for in Gaza

Vance has said the Israel-Hamas cease-fire could lead to further Israeli alliances in the Middle East.

"I think this Gaza deal is a critical piece of unlocking the Abraham Accords," he said. "But what it could allow is an alliance structure in the Middle East that perseveres, that endures, and that allows the good people in this region, the world, to step up and take ownership of their own backyard."

What is set to happen next?

Vance has admitted that the road toward a lasting peace will be littered with difficulties.

"We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but rebuild Gaza, to make life better for the people of Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel," he said on Wednesday, adding that he is "optimistic" about how things currently stand.

Netanyahu on Wednesday also said ideas for “the day after” and future of Gaza—such as how the territory will be governed—had been discussed.

"We’re just creating an unbelievable day after with a completely new vision of how to have the civil government, how to have the security there, who could provide that security there. It’s not going to be easy, but I think it’s possible," said Netanyahu. "We’re really creating a peace plan and an infrastructure here where nothing existed even a week and a day ago. That’s going to require a lot of work. It requires a lot of ingenuity."

Meanwhile, Israel is pushing for the remainder of bodies belonging to the deceased hostages to be returned home.

“We know that Hamas can return them and we know that Hamas is aware of where they are located,” said spokesperson Bedrosian, who referred to Hamas’ claim that some bodies cannot be located as "propaganda."

Vance encouraged patience, pointing out that “some of these hostages are buried under 1000s of pounds of rubble. Some of the hostages, nobody even knows where they are.”

While Israeli and U.S. politicians oversee the cease-fire, the United Nations is set to continue its 60-day plan to restore a more consistent flow of aid into Gaza. Aid trucks entered the territory on Monday via the Kerem Shalom crossing situated in southern Gaza along the border with Egypt and Israel.

U.N. Humanitarian Aid Chief Tom Fletcher, who visited Gaza over the weekend, announced on Monday that U.N. bulldozers and other equipment are being used to clear roads in the territory and improve the flow of aid. He referred to the process of readying Gaza for the next stage of the cease-fire as a “massive task.”

On Wednesday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said that Israel must also allow UNRWA, the U.N. aid agency in Gaza, to provide humanitarian assistance to the territory.

Israel “is under the obligation to agree to and facilitate relief schemes provided by the United Nations and its entities, including UNRWA,” said ICJ president Yuji Iwasawa.

This advisory opinion from the ICJ comes after Israel, in early 2025, moved to ban UNRWA from working in the territory amid claims from Netanyahu and his cabinet that the group had been infiltrated by Hamas. UNRWA strongly rejected the allegations.