Vice President JD Vance is expected to visit the Middle East on Tuesday to push the second phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as it teeters on renewed violence from the terror group.

Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire on Sunday after militants appeared out of a tunnel in Israeli-controlled territory in Gaza and killed two Israeli soldiers in an anti-tank rocket attack. In response, the Israeli military launched around 20 airstrikes across Gaza, according to Axios.

Hamas did not deny the attack, though it said that it was carried out by a faction or militants that were not acting on orders from Hamas leadership.

“We are not aware of any incidents or clashes taking place in the Rafah area, because these are zones under Israeli control, and contact has been severed with our groups that remained there,” Hamas said in a statement, according to Axios.

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In addition to the attack, Hamas continues to be in violation of phase one of the ceasefire deal by failing to return all the bodies of the deceased hostages. About half of the deceased remain in Gaza, and the terror group has said it needs more time to locate them.

The United States and Israel have made separate accusations against the terror group in recent days of violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement that saw Israel withdraw from roughly half of Gaza and release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The U.S. State Department on Saturday said in a statement that the “United States has informed the guarantor nations of the Gaza peace agreement of credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza.”

The State Department’s statement is “likely related to Hamas’ crackdown on the Palestinian population since the ceasefire went into effect,” according to Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior research analyst Joe Truzman.

Since the ceasefire officially began last week, videos have surfaced on social media of Hamas militants publicly executing or brutally beating Gazans. In one video, militants drop large rocks on a man’s legs before beating him with a pipe.

Trump has repeatedly said that Hamas will disarm, or they will be disarmed. He repeated that promise in an interview with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that aired on Sunday.

“They promised they would [disarm]. They said they would. It’s [written] down that they would,” said Trump. “If we have to, we’ll disarm them.”

He clarified that the United States would not send soldiers into Gaza and that a proxy could fight Hamas: “Could be Israel with our backing. We won’t have boots on the ground. There’s no reason to.”

The actions of Hamas militants inside and outside its zone of control in the Gaza Strip have strained the already tenuous ceasefire in place between the terror group and Israel. Vance is expected to visit Israel with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff to provide more direct oversight of the terms of the peace agreement.

One major point of tension in the peace process is the requirement that Hamas be disarmed.

“There is no security infrastructure currently that would ensure Hamas is disarmed,” Vance said on Sunday evening.

Just over a week after President Trump brokered a deal that brought home the last of the hostages held by Hamas terrorists — and laid out a plan for lasting peace between Israel and Gaza — the latest reports indicate that Hamas militants have taken to publicly executing Palestinian civilians. So of course, CNN wanted to talk about — and to — former Rep. George Santos (R-NY).

For those who don’t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week’s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.

Trump announced on Friday that he was commuting the remainder of the 7-year sentence that Santos was serving after he pled guilty to aggravated identity theft and wire-fraud charges in relation to his 2022 congressional campaign. Prior to that he’d been ousted by Congress after serving less than a year of his first term: Lawmakers voted 311-114 to oust Santos in December 2023 after a GOP-led House Ethics Committee report accused Santos of stealing campaign donors’ money to spend on Botox, OnlyFans, and other items.

Trump swiped at Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) in the Truth Social post announcing the commutation, saying, “I started to think about George when the subject of Democrat Senator Richard “Da Nang Dick” Blumenthal came up again. As everyone remembers, “Da Nang” stated for almost twenty years that he was a proud Vietnam Veteran, having endured the worst of the War, watching the Wounded and Dead as he raced up the hills and down the valleys, blood streaming from his face … This is far worse than what George Santos did, and at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!”

So on Sunday, despite the continued bloodshed in Gaza and the ongoing Democrat-driven government shutdown, much of the conversation on CNN was focused squarely on Santos.

Anchor Dana Bash started with Senator Katie Britt (R-AL), asking whether she took issue with Trump’s decision to commute the sentence of the disgraced congressman.

“[Santos] did plead guilty to defrauding his donors and constituents of hundreds of thousands of dollars, money he will no longer be required to pay back because of this commutation. Is this acceptable to you?” Bash asked.

“Look, I will let Congressman Santos speak for himself,” Britt replied. “What I appreciate is President Trump’s commitment to the American people.”

BASH: “[Santos] did plead guilty to defrauding his donors and constituents of hundreds of thousands of dollars, money he will no longer be required to pay back because of this commutation. Is this acceptable to you?”

BRITT: “Look, I will let Congressman Santos speak for… pic.twitter.com/3SvurPWDHk

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) October 19, 2025

Bash then took the question to Santos directly, asking him whether he planned to make restitution.

“You were ordered by the court to pay $370,000 in restitution to the people you defrauded… Will you work to try to do that?” she asked.

“I can do my best to do whatever the law requires of me. So I don’t know what that is,” he replied. “If it’s required of me by the law, yes. If it’s not, then no.”

BASH: “You were ordered by the court to pay $370,000 in restitution to the people you defrauded… Will you work to try to do that?”

SANTOS: “I can do my best to do whatever the law requires of me. So I don’t know what that is… If it’s required of me by the law, yes. If it’s… pic.twitter.com/EVBHKzKGTg

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) October 19, 2025

Bash then pivoted to note that some were critical of Trump’s decision to commute his sentence, and Santos pushed back, essentially arguing that there would be people criticizing Trump no matter what he did.

“I’m pretty confident if President Trump had pardoned Jesus Christ off the cross, he would have had critics,” Santos said.

George Santos shrugs off criticism of Trump commuting his prison sentence: “I’m pretty confident if President Trump had pardoned Jesus Christ off the cross, he would have had critics.” pic.twitter.com/YxjwjV5F6u

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) October 19, 2025

“I’m very grateful to President Trump, Dana, and I sit here quite literally, I don’t know how much more humbled I can get before people believe I’m humble or remorseful, but I can just do the best in my actions moving forward,” Santos added.

George Santos responds to former Republican colleagues who say he shouldn’t have been freed from prison: “I’m very grateful to President Trump, Dana, and I sit here quite literally, I don’t know how much more humbled I can get before people believe I’m humble or remorseful, but I… pic.twitter.com/1TyrdeeDXl

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) October 19, 2025

He went on to say that he’d already thought of a way that he could potentially begin to give back, saying, “I told this to the president, that I’d love to be involved with prison reform, and not in a partisan way, in real human ways, in a way that we effect it, that it helps society, it helps these individuals rebuild their lives and we have a better system with less incarcerated people … If I can be a part of helping that, I think that would be a great road to follow in the future.”

Santos: “I told this to the president, that I’d love to be involved with prison reform, and not in a partisan way, in real human ways, in a way that we effect it, that it helps society, it helps these individuals rebuild their lives and we have a better system with less… pic.twitter.com/6qXkS9c3z3

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) October 19, 2025

And it didn’t end there: Santos was also the topic of a panel discussion to round out “State of the Union.”

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) said she wasn’t in favor of Trump’s decision, but that she planned to withhold judgment and give Santos a chance to prove he’d changed.

“I will give him the benefit of the doubt, and I hope he is a changed person who’s going to focus on his second chance on doing good. I do not agree with the commutation. I think it was a wrong decision, primarily because this is somebody who stole millions of dollars from his donors. He defrauded the public and his voters … I wish him well. I hope he does good, and I hope he sticks to his word that he’s a renewed person.”

New York Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis on Trump commuting George Santos’ prison sentence:

“I will give him the benefit of the doubt, and I hope he is a changed person who’s going to focus on his second chance on doing good. I do not agree with the commutation. I… pic.twitter.com/I77ZfKoMw7

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) October 19, 2025

And then Paul Begala tried to make it about Trump …

“This is a story about a con man, a liar, a grifter, somebody, a felon, disgraced his high office, and also about George Santos,” he quipped.

Paul Begala: “This is a story about a con man, a liar, a grifter, somebody, a felon, disgraced his high office, and also about George Santos.”

GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, Brad Todd, and Faiz Shakir join Dana Bash to react to President Trump’s controversial decision to commute… pic.twitter.com/W7SQ50hJpp

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) October 19, 2025