Two hundred U.S. troops working with Israel’s military and others have scrambled to build out a new Civil-Military Coordination Center to monitor the Israel-Hamas cease-fire.

Vice President JD Vance visits the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during his trip to Israel, calling it an "amazing blessing" and a "very special moment."

A collective funeral ceremony was held Wednesday in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, for 54 unidentified Palestinians whose bodies were returned from Israel, the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) reported.

Several top U.S. officials are in Israel to shore up the Gaza ceasefire and attempt to bring about a permanent end to the war. They acknowledge the next phase poses serious challenges.

President Trump has warned Israel it could lose all U.S. support if it moves forward on efforts to annex territory in the West Bank, as the Israeli government advances legislation aiming to formalize its sovereignty over settlements in the region.

Over the past eleven days, 195 bodies have been returned to Gaza by Israeli authorities, in exchange for the bodies of 13 Israeli hostages, under the terms of Donald Trump's ceasefire deal. Two other bodies – those of Nepalese and Thai hostages – have also been returned by Hamas.

“We are not a protectorate of the United States. Israel is the one that will decide on its security,” Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office as he headed into the meeting.

The remains of hostages were last returned on Tuesday night. The two that were returned were identified as Arie Zalmanovicz and Chief Sgt.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday to shore up the fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza that has teetered over the past few days following a burst of deadly violence and questions over how to move forward with the plan for cementing a long-term peace.

Vice President JD Vance continues his trip to Israel today as the Trump administration seeks to shore up the ceasefire it brokered between Israel and Hamas.