Netanyahu Confirms Meeting With Trump, Says 2nd Phase Of Gaza Ceasefire Deal Will Begin Soon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said he expected the second phase of the US-backed Gaza ceasefire plan will begin “very shortly”. He also announced a meeting with US President Donald Trump “later this month” on the matter.

The Times of Israel quoted Netanyahu saying “peace opportunities are at hand” after Israeli military operations battered Iran’s Axis of Resistance over the past few years in wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and against the Islamic Republic itself.

“I’m going to discuss them with President [Donald] Trump when I meet him later on this month,” he said, adding that he will discuss “how to bring an end to the Hamas rule in Gaza, because that’s an essential part of ensuring a different future for Gaza and a different future for us facing

Gaza”.

“We finished the first part, as you know, phase one. We’re almost there,” he said.

The PM further said after receiving the body of last hostage, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, “then we shortly expect to move into the second phase,” Netanyahu said while pointing out that the next phase will be more difficult.

He said the third phase will be to “deradicalize Gaza” which “was done in Germany” following World War II.

“I speak to many world leaders, but when I speak to Merz, it’s an honest and open conversation, even when we have disagreements,” he added.

PM Netanyahu also said he would meet US President “later on this month” to discuss peace in the Middle East.

Netanyahu, however, did not say where the meeting would take place but his office said he was invited to the White House after a phone call with Trump on Monday.

In October, a ceasefire and hostage deal was reached under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war.