Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this Sunday, December 7, that the second phase of the US plan to end the war in Gaza was close and that Israel and Hamas “should move very soon to the second phase of the ceasefire”, after the group returned the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza. According to the head of Government, this could happen as early as the end of this month.
Hamas has not yet handed over the remains of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer killed in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war, whose body is in Gaza.
According to reports, Netanyahu will discuss the second phase of the plan for Gaza with Trump later this month. Last month, the prime minister’s office said the US president had invited Netanyahu to the White House “soon”, but a date was never set.
The second phase of the ceasefire includes the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza, the deployment of an international force to secure Gaza, and the formation of a temporary Palestinian government to manage day-to-day affairs under the supervision of an international council led by US President Donald Trump.
At a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is visiting the country, Netanyahu said that few people believed that the first phase of the ceasefire could be achieved, and that the second phase is equally challenging.
“There is a third phase, which is the deradicalization of Gaza, something that many also believed to be impossible. But this has been done in Germany, Japan and the Gulf States. It can be done in Gaza too, but it is clear that Hamas needs to be dismantled,” he said.
On Saturday, Hamas said it was willing to hand over its weapons to a Palestinian official “if the occupation ends.”
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, at least 367 people have died in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire came into force.