Initial Phase of Gaza Strip Ceasefire Plan Almost Complete, States Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu has remarked that the first segment of the United Nations-backed Gaza halt in hostilities agreement is nearing finalization, and added that the next phase must include the disarmament of Hamas.

Upcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli leader said he would address the future steps in the coming weeks in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza initiatives were formalized in a UN Security Council decision on 17 November.

“We’re about to complete the initial phase,” Netanyahu remarked. “But we have to make sure that we attain the identical results in the next stage, and that’s something I look forward to discussing with President Trump.”

German Chancellor Meets with Netanyahu

The prime minister was speaking at a shared press conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “Stage two must begin now and then phase three must also be considered.”

Merz is the first leader of a significant European state to confer with Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court issued warrants for arrest for the Israeli prime minister and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in November last year for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

After securing victory in federal elections in February, Merz had stated he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany regardless of the ICC warrants, but clarified on Sunday a visit was not at this time under consideration. Netanyahu disregards the warrants as “baseless allegations” from a “biased prosecuting office”.

Details of the Ongoing Truce

During the initial stage of the existing ceasefire agreement, Hamas released the last 20 surviving Israeli captives in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and it has handed over all but one of 28 bodies of hostages killed during the war. At the same time, Israeli forces have pulled back to a truce line, leaving them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Following the ceasefire was announced on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed more than 360 Palestinians, including an approximate 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been fatally wounded in Hamas attacks over the same timeframe.

Next Steps and Unclear Sequencing

Neither Trump’s proposals, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which largely endorsed them, specified a schedule extending the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to retreat more, and an international stabilization force is to be set up under the authority of a “board of peace” of world leaders led by Trump, overseeing a technocratic Palestinian committee to run day-to-day governance of Gaza.

The order of these measures is vague in Trump’s plan or in resolution 2803. In his remarks on Sunday, Netanyahu put his emphasis on Hamas disarmament.

“I think it’s important to ensure that Hamas complies not only with the ceasefire, but also with their commitment which they undertook to disarm and have Gaza demilitarized,” he stated.

Possible Options and Diplomatic Stances

Netanyahu brought up the prospects of “alternatives” to the ISF, without explaining what those might be. He would not exclude Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, labeling it as a topic of “negotiation”, and emphasized that Israel was strongly against the creation of a Palestinian state, the objective of the peace process supported by most European and Arab capitals as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Warrants and Judicial Cases

Netanyahu said the primary reason he would not be able make a return visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he characterized as fabricated by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of diverting attention from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any wrongdoing, but recused himself from his role in May awaiting the conclusion of an inquiry.

Netanyahu said Khan was “destroying the credibility of the ICC” with “trumped-up charges of deprivation and genocide” from a “corrupt official”.

A separate court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is reviewing allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN independent commission of inquiry found that Israel had committed genocide.

Questioned about the prospect of Netanyahu visiting Germany, Merz told reporters on Sunday: “There is little cause to discuss this at the moment.”