The US vice-president's visit comes after a flare-up of violence between Israel and Hamas that threatened to derail the 12-day-old truce.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Israel to meet with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, the Israeli government announced Wednesday. The announcement comes as the Trump administration works to shore up the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Hamas militants killed two Israeli soldiers in Rafah, violating the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement before Israel responded with strikes and restored the truce.

The vice president said that while he can't have "100% certainty that it's going to work," he has "great optimism the ceasefire is going to hold."

Vice President JD Vance is in Israel to address challenges in the Gaza ceasefire. And, the demolition of the East Wing of the White House has drawn criticism and raised questions about ethics.

Special Report' panelists discuss the efforts to enact phase two of the Gaza peace deal, the ongoing efforts to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and more.

At least six people were killed overnight, shortly after the American president announced that he did not "want to have a waste of time" holding a summit with the Russian leader.