US Vice President JD Vance has decided against a planned visit to Israel, citing concerns over the Israeli military's expanded operation in Gaza, known as "Gideon's Chariots," Axios reported, citing a senior US official.

While the official explanation was "logistical constraints," the decision was reportedly made to avoid signaling US endorsement of Israel’s expanded ground offensive, launched under Operation Gideon’s Chariots.

According to Axios, internal concerns were raised that a visit might be misinterpreted as support for Israeli policy at a time when the Trump administration is pressing for a ceasefire, a hostage release deal, and increased humanitarian aid to the Strip.

Axios reporter Barak Ravid later cited an Israeli official who said that the Vice President and his team thought on Saturday that a hostage and ceasefire deal was imminent, and therefore planned to visit Israel this week. However, when it became clear the next day that a deal was unlikely, they decided to cancel the trip.

Vance had been expected to stop in Israel after attending the Pope’s inauguration in Rome. Earlier this week, journalist Amit Segal reported that Vance was scheduled to arrive in Israel on Tuesday.

The White House quickly moved to contradict those reports, with a White House official saying, "Media reports that the vice president will visit Israel are false," and stressing that Vance will return to Washington on Monday.

"While the Secret Service has engaged in contingency planning for the addition of several potential countries, no additional visits were at any point decided upon, and logistical constraints have precluded an extension of his travel beyond Rome," the official added.