US Vice President JD Vance: 'We Are on the Cusp of Peace in Gaza'
US Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that the Trump administration’s diplomatic efforts have brought the Middle East to what he called “the cusp of peace in Gaza.” His remarks came during an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, where he discussed the recent ceasefire, the expected release of hostages, and US military involvement in the region.
Vance emphasized that the administration’s success stemmed from President Donald Trump’s decision to take an unconventional approach to diplomacy. “Well, I do, Kristen. We’re going to have to do a lot of work to make sure that it stays ended,” he said, referring to the Gaza conflict. He credited the president’s approach, saying Trump “gave unusual authorities to people who had never been in diplomacy before,” including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
According to Vance, the president’s strategy led to cooperation between Israel and several Gulf Arab states. “He actually broke the mold. Instead of doing diplomacy the same old way that it had failed for the past 30 or 40 years, he gave Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner a remarkable amount of authority to go and get a peace deal done,” he said. “He worked hard on everybody from the Israelis to the Gulf Arab states to make this happen.”
Vance described the diplomatic process as difficult but historic. “This was very hard. This was a long time coming. It required a lot of work,” he said. “But yes, I believe that we are on the cusp of peace in Gaza for the first time, not just in a couple of years, but really in a very long time, because the president of the United States has done something that no other world leader has been able to do, unite the Israelis with the Gulf Arab states for a common objective, and that is to bring the hostages home, to stop the war, and to build the kind of long-term settlement that we really do believe can lead to a lasting peace.”
Vance also confirmed that President Trump plans to travel to the Middle East to greet hostages expected to be released under the ceasefire terms. “It really should be any moment now, Kristen,” he said. “The president of the United States is planning to travel to the Middle East to greet the hostages Monday morning Middle Eastern time, which should be late Sunday night or very early Monday morning here in the United States. So you can’t say exactly the moment they will be released, but we have every expectation, that’s why the president is going, that he will be greeting the hostages early next week.”
On the question of US troop involvement, Vance said reports about a planned deployment were inaccurate. “That report actually missed something. We’re not planning to put boots on the ground,” he said. “What we already have is a U.S. Central Command. We already have people in that region of the world. They’re going to monitor the terms of the ceasefire. They’re going to monitor, ensure that the humanitarian aid is flowing.”
He noted that existing personnel would ensure compliance with the ceasefire terms. “They actually confirmed yesterday that Israel pulled back to the agreed upon lines, which of course is the first condition. The second condition or the second term is for the hostages to be released. So we have people in that region of the world who are going to monitor parts of this peace proposal. But the president is not planning to put boots on the ground in Israel.”
Vance added that there were regional offers to help maintain stability in Gaza. “We’ve actually had, and this is one of the great successes of the president’s diplomacy, from Indonesia to the Gulf Arab states, we’ve had a number of Muslim majority countries offer to step up and have them put troops on the ground to secure Gaza. It’s not going to be necessary for American troops to be in Gaza.”
The vice president’s remarks came after President Trump declared earlier in the week that “the war in Gaza has ended,” signaling what could be a turning point in the conflict and in broader Middle East relations.