LONDON, December 22. /TASS/. The United States and Israel will face major disagreements on various issues despite their allied relations, US Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with the UK-based UnHerd website.

"I happen to believe that Israel is an important ally, [and] that there are certain things that we’re certainly going to work together on. But we’re also going to have very substantive disagreements with Israel, and that’s OK," the vice president stated.

He noted that it is important for Washington to maintain room for maneuver in its relations with the Jewish state and to have the ability to distance itself from its foreign policy at certain stages.

Israel and Hamas resumed Egypt-, Qatar-, United States-, and Turkey-mediated indirect talks on settling the situation in the Gaza Strip on October 6. On October 9, the parties to the conflict signed an agreement on the implementation of phase one of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. The truce came into effect on October 10. On October 13, Hamas and other Palestinian groups released all 20 living hostages and handed over the bodies of four deceased under the Gaza ceasefire deal. The Israeli side expressed resentment that Hamas returned only four out of 28 bodies. Later, Hamas transferred several more bodies to Israel. By now, Hamas continues holding one more body.

According to the Axios news portal, Trump plans to announce the beginning of the implementation of phase two of his peace plan for Gaza before December 25. Phase two envisages the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave and the deployment of an "international stabilization force," as well as the launch of the enclave administration structures.