Netanyahu to move to next phase of Gaza ceasefire plan soon

“We very shortly expect to move to the second phase, which is more difficult, or equally difficult,” Netanyahu said, speaking at a joint press conference in Jerusalem with GermanGermanGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “We’re almost there.”

Under Trump’s proposal for Gaza, troops from several Muslim-majority nations, including Indonesia and Azerbaijan, would join an International Stabilization Force working with Egypt and Israel to help maintain order as the Israel Defense Forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip. The plan also envisions a transitional government to be set up under a “Board of Peace.”

The return of the body of the last remaining Israeli hostage in Gaza would conclude the first phase of the plan. In the second phase, Hamas must be disarmed and Gaza demilitarized, Netanyahu said, adding that the third phase of the plan must be to “de-radicalize Gaza.”