The vice president and second lady arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Tuesday where they were greeted on the tarmac by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

Trump dispatched his right-hand man and the second lady as Netanyahu ordered strikes after two Israeli soldiers were killed by Hamas fighters.

The Israeli PM said on Sunday that his troops had 'dropped 153 tons of bombs' on Gaza in the retaliatory assault, acknowledging this breached the truce.

However, Jerusalem said the strikes were a necessary response to 'blatant violations' of the ceasefire, while also briefly halting aid shipments into the Strip.

Trump and Vance both said the ceasefire remained 'technically in effect', with the administration's top negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner immediately dispatched to mediate between the two sides.

Vance, who met Witkoff and Kushner for talks at the airport, is expected to stay in the region until Thursday. He is slated to meet with Netanyahu and Israel's President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on Wednesday, where they will discuss implementing the next phase of Trump's 20-point peace plan.

Vance is to hold a news conference on Tuesday evening in Jerusalem and is also expected to meet with families of hostages whose bodies are still being held in Gaza and some of the living hostages released by the militants last week.

Earlier on Tuesday, Witkoff and Kushner met in Tel Aviv with nine hostages who were released from captivity last week.

It comes as Netanyahu warns that Hamas has failed to hand over the remains of every hostage. The chief Hamas negotiator says the group is steadfast in its resolve to honor the truce and end the two-year war.  

Israel confirmed overnight that Hamas released the body of Tal Haimi, who was killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attack that ignited the war.

He was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on the Gaza border.

The 42-year-old was a fourth-generation resident of the kibbutz and part of its emergency response team. He had four children, including one born after the attack.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is still waiting for Hamas to turn over the remains of 15 deceased hostages. Thirteen bodies have been released since the ceasefire began.