Vance confirms that Hamas has 20 living hostages, expected release in next 24 hours

He spoke with ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week."

Vice President JD Vance confirmed to ABC "This Week" co-anchor George Stephanopoulos that Hamas has said they are holding 20 living hostages, and that those hostages are expected to be released in the next 24 hours as President Donald Trump was headed to the region later Sunday to mark the occasion.

"Well, they've been confirmed, George. Of course you don't know until you see these people alive. But thank God we expect to see them alive here in the next 24 hours, probably early tomorrow morning, U.S. time, which will be later in the day, of course, in Israel," Vance said.

"We are on the cusp of true peace in the Middle East. Really, for the first time in my lifetime, certainly these 20 hostages are going to come home to their families, George. I think this is a great moment for our country. Our country should be proud of our diplomats who made this happen. It's really a great moment for the world, too, which is why the president's going to go over there and celebrate with these hostages. But it's a great thing, and I'm very excited about it," he said.

Trump is scheduled to leave for his visit to Israel and Egypt on Sunday afternoon and will meet with hostage families at the Israeli Knesset on Monday.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report Hamas’ confirmation of the 20 living hostages.

With the U.S. Central Command establishing a coordination center in Israel to support and monitor the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, Vance said it was “misreported” that additional members of the U.S. military were being sent to the region -- claiming that "We already have troops at Central Command."

A U.S. official told ABC News that 200 troops are being sent to Israel, however, to specialize in transportation, planning, logistics, security and engineering. Vance also repeated claims from top officials that no U.S. troops are intended to go into Gaza.

"So, that story is actually misreported. We already have troops at Central Command. We've had them for decades in this country. They're going to monitor the terms of the ceasefire. That's everything from ensuring that the Israeli troops are at the agreed upon line, ensuring that Hamas is not attacking innocent Israelis, doing everything that they can to ensure the peace that we've created, actually sustains and endures," Vance said.

"But the idea that we're going to have troops on the ground in Gaza, in Israel, that that is not our intention, that is not our plan. There was a bit of a misreporting there, but we are going to monitor this peace to ensure that it endures," he added.