The U.S. applied more pressure on Hamas on Tuesday to disarm during the next stage of a already delicate Gaza ceasefire as President Donald Trump worked to solidify an end to the devastating conflict.

During a visit to Israel, U.S. Vice President JD Vance stated that the ceasefire plan was progressing better than expected but warned Hamas that it would be destroyed if it did not cooperate, echoing a Trump threat earlier in the day of "fast, furious and brutal force."

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of repeated violations of the truce since it took effect 11 days ago, with flare-ups of violence and blame over the pace of returning hostage bodies, delivering aid, and opening borders. According to the Gaza health ministry, Israel has killed at least 87 Palestinians since the ceasefire began, and over the weekend, two Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Gaza.

A delegation from Hamas stated at a meeting with Turkish government officials on Tuesday that the group remains committed to the ceasefire agreement despite what it called Israel's "repeated violations," according to a Hamas statement.

Diplomatic efforts

With the existing truce already fragile, the U.S. and mediators Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye are trying to push toward the much more complex second phase of talks that requires both sides to make concessions that have previously derailed peace efforts.

Trump's 20-point ceasefire plan calls for Hamas to disarm, which the group has so far refused to agree to, along with a simultaneous Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a pathway toward a Palestinian state.

Vance, who is scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, expressed optimism about the truce and suggested that more Gulf states might eventually seek to normalize relations with Israel.

Meanwhile, Egypt is hosting Hamas negotiators led by the group's senior leader Khalil al-Hayya as they discuss both the current ceasefire arrangements and the complex next steps.

A Palestinian official involved in the talks said Hamas supported the idea of creating a technocratic committee to manage Gaza without including any of its representatives, but with the approval of both the group and the Palestinian Authority.

Egyptian sources told Xinhua on Tuesday that Israel rejected a proposal for Hamas to join a technocratic government in Gaza during a meeting in Jerusalem between Netanyahu and Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, the head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service.

The discussions centered on solidifying the Gaza ceasefire, enabling the deployment of an Egyptian-led international force, and allowing 1,000 Palestinian police officers to help secure the enclave once Hamas transfers control, the sources said.

Return of bodies and aid deliveries

Hamas released another hostage body late on Monday and handed over two more late on Tuesday. Another 13 bodies remain in Gaza. Israel returned another 15 bodies of Palestinian captives on Tuesday, according to local health authorities, bringing the total it has returned to Gaza to 165.

Inside the enclave on Tuesday, more aid was entering through two Israeli-controlled crossings, Palestinian and UN officials said. However, with Gaza residents facing disastrous conditions, aid agencies have stated that much more needs to be brought in.

Abeer Etefa, spokesperson for the World Food Program (WFP), stated that since the ceasefire started on October 11, the agency has delivered over 6,700 tonnes of food, enough to feed nearly half a million people for two weeks.

"Daily deliveries continue and now average around 750 tonnes," she said, noting this remains well below WFP's target of 2,000 tonnes a day. "Unless all border crossing points are used, reaching this target is almost impossible."

Currently, only the Kerem Shalom and Kissufim crossings in the south are open. Severe destruction continues to block access to northern Gaza, where famine was declared in August. "We need Erez, we need Zikkim, we need these border crossing points to open," Etefa stressed.

(With input from agencies)