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US and UK Differ on Gaza but Share Goal to End Crisis, Vance Says
US Vice President JD Vance meets British Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House in Sevenoaks, Britain, Aug. 8, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool
Britain and the United States may disagree about how to address the crisis in Gaza, but they share a common goal in resolving it, Vice President JD Vance said as he met British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Friday in southern England.
Vance, who has previously criticized Britain and its governing Labour Party, landed with his wife Usha and their three children in London before heading to Chevening, the large country residence used by the British foreign minister in Kent.
The visit comes amid increased attention on Vance‘s foreign policy views as he emerges as a key figure in President Donald Trump’s administration and his possible pick as successor.
Asked about Britain’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state, Vance said the US and Britain had a common objective to resolve the crisis in the Middle East, adding: “We may have some disagreements about how exactly to accomplish that goal, and we’ll talk about that today.”
Vance reiterated that the US had no plans to recognise a Palestinian state, saying he did not know what recognition actually meant, “given the lack of a functional government there.”
Britain, by contrast, has taken a harder stance against Israel, declaring its intention to recognize a Palestinian state along with France and Canada to put pressure on Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu over the continuing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Close to Chevening House, a small group of protesters had gathered, some waving Palestinian flags and one holding up a sign showing a meme of Vance. Other protests are also planned during the visit.
Asked by a reporter about Trump’s suggestion this week that Vance was his likely heir apparent for the 2028 presidential election, the vice president said his current focus was to do a “good job” for Americans.
“I’m not really focused even on the election in 2026, much less one, two years after that,” he said, referring to the midterm election next year.
FISHING TRIP
Earlier on Friday, Vance and Lammy went fishing in the lake behind Chevening House, appearing relaxed in blue button-down shirts and sharing a laugh.
Vance joked to reporters that the “one strain on the special relationship” between Britain and the US was that all his children had caught fish but that the British foreign minister had not.
“Before beginning our bilateral, the Vice President gave me fishing tips, Kentucky style,” Lammy said in a post on X.
The pair have developed a warm friendship, bonding over their difficult childhoods and shared Christian faith, according to two officials familiar with the relationship.
“I have to say that I really have become a good friend, and David has become a good friend of mine,” Vance told reporters, sitting beside Lammy.
After spending two nights in Chevening with Lammy, the Vances will travel to the Cotswolds, a picturesque area that is a popular retreat for wealthy and influential figures, from footballers and film stars to media and political figures.
Vance has championed an America First foreign policy and once said last year’s election victory for Lammy’s center-left Labour Party meant Britain was “maybe” the first “truly Islamist” country with a nuclear weapon.
Lammy once called Trump a “far-right extremist” and a “neo-Nazi” but since coming to power has brushed off his remarks as “old news.”
Vance‘s trip will include several official engagements, meetings, and visits to cultural sites and a likely meeting with US troops, a source familiar with the planning said.
Trump, who traveled to Scotland for a private visit, is also scheduled for a historic second state visit to Britain next month.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.