Netanyahu says he hopes for second phase of Gaza ceasefire to begin

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he hopes Ceasefire plan in Gaza move to the second phase “very soon”.

Netanyahu, speaking during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after a meeting between the two leaders, said they discussed how to “end Hamas rule in Gaza.”

“We finished the first part,” he said, adding: “And then, very soon, we hope to move on to the second phase, which is more difficult.”

Netanyahu also said he will meet with US President Trump later this month to discuss “opportunities for peace” in the region.

News themezone has reached out to the White House to confirm the meeting and additional meetings. The two leaders have met at least three times since Trump returned to the White House for a second term in January.

The first phase of the US peace plan began on October 10, ceasing fighting and exchanging hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The next phase involves an international security force and other measures and has not yet begun. Concerns remain about the role and composition of the force.

Netanyahu stressed that the second phase of the ceasefire, the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza, could begin at the end of the month. The remains of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer who was murdered on October 7, 2023 and whose body was taken to Gaza, have not yet been returned.

“And now we have a second phase, no less daunting, and that is to achieve the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza,” Netanyahu said. “There is a third phase, and that is to deradicalize Gaza, something that people also believed was impossible. But it was done in Germany, it was done in Japan, it was done in the Gulf states, and it can also be done in Gaza.”

Arab and Western officials told The News on Friday that an international body to oversee the ceasefire, which will be led by Trump himself, is expected to be appointed by the end of the year. In the long term, the plan also calls for a possible “path” to Palestinian independence.

On Saturday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told an international conference in the Qatari capital that international mediators, led by the United States, are working “to force the way forward” toward second phase to cement the deal.

“What we have just done is a pause,” he said at the Doha Forum. “We cannot consider it a ceasefire yet.”

“A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, there is stability in Gaza and people can come and go, which is not the case today,” he said.

The ceasefire in Gaza remains fragile and both sides accuse each other of violating it.

The war broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists entered Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.