Vice President JD Vance projected optimism Tuesday about Gaza 's fragile ceasefire agreement, calling progress better than anticipated as he visited a new center in Israel for civilian and military cooperation.

Vance noted flareups of violence in recent days but said the ceasefire is going “better than I expected” after two years of war between Israel and Hamas.

Vance was in Israel to shore up the ceasefire following a burst of deadly violence and questions over the plan for long-term peace.

In a speech during his visit to the center Vance stressed the need for patience over the bodies of hostages still in Gaza being returned by Hamas due to the difficulties locating some of those killed.

"Some of these hostages are buried under thousands of pounds of rubble. Some of the hostages, nobody even knows where they are," he said.

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't work to get them. And that doesn't mean we don't have confidence that we will. It's just a reason to counsel in favor of a little bit of patience. This is going to take a little bit of time."

During his visit Vance was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials and is expected to stay in the region until Thursday.

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and one of the architects of the ceasefire agreement, is also in Israel.

The ceasefire took effect on October 10.

While it has been tested by Sunday's fighting and mutual accusations of violations, both Israel and Hamas have said they are committed to the deal. Trump has made clear he wants it to succeed.