Netanyahu Says Gaza Ceasefire Could Enter Second Phase By End Of Year

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel and Hamas “are expected to move to the second phase of the ceasefire very shortly” after Hamas returned the remains of the last hostage held in Israel. Gaza.

Speaking at a press conference with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Netanyahu emphasized that the second phase, addressing the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from Gaza, could begin at the end of the month.

Hamas has not yet surrendered Ruins of Ran GviliThe 24-year-old police officer killed in the attack that sparked the Hamas-led war on October 7, 2023. His body was taken to Gaza.

The second phase of the ceasefire also includes the deployment of an international force to ensure the security of Gaza and the establishment of an interim Palestinian government that will handle day-to-day affairs under the supervision of an international board led by US President Donald Trump.

A senior Hamas official on Sunday he told the Associated Press The group is ready to discuss “freezing, storing or releasing” its weapons as part of a ceasefire, a possible approach to one of the most difficult problems facing us.

Netanyahu said that few people believe that the first phase of the ceasefire can be achieved, and that the second phase is just as difficult.

“As I mentioned to the Chancellor, there is a third stage, which is to deradicalize Gaza; something that people also believe is impossible. But it has been done in Germany, it has been done in Japan, it has been done in the Gulf countries. It can be done in Gaza, too, but of course Hamas has to be dispersed,” he said.

The return of Gvili’s body and Israel’s return of the bodies of 15 Palestinians in return will complete the first phase of the war. Trump’s 20-item ceasefire plan.

Hamas said it could not find all the remains because they were buried under rubble. Israel’s two-year offensive In Gaza. Israel accused the militants of stalling and threatened to continue military operations or halt humanitarian aid if all remains were not returned.

A group of hostage families said in a statement: “We cannot move on to the next stage until Ran Gvili returns home.”

Meanwhile, Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir on Sunday described the so-called Yellow Line, which separates the Israeli-controlled majority of Gaza from the rest of the region, as a “new border.”

“We have operational control over a large part of the Gaza Strip and we will remain within these defensive lines,” Zamir said. “The Yellow Line is a new border line that serves as a forward line of defense and operational line of action for our communities.”

Merz said that Germany, one of Israel’s closest allies, helped implement the second phase by sending officers and diplomats to Israel. US-led civil and military coordination center By sending humanitarian aid to southern Israel and Gaza.

The chancellor also said that Germany still believes that the two-state solution is the best possible option, but “the German federal government is of the view that recognition of the state of Palestine can only come at the end of such a process, not at the beginning.”

The plan prepared by the USA for Gaza leaves the door open to the independence of Palestine. Netanyahu has been advocating this for a long time He said creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamas-run state on Israel’s borders.

Netanyahu also said he wanted to visit Germany but was not planning a diplomatic trip because he was worried about a problem. Arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal CourtThe UN’s highest war crimes court over the war in Gaza last year.

Merz said he has no plans to visit at the moment, but may invite Netanyahu in the future. He added that he was unaware of future European Union sanctions against Israel or Germany’s plans to renew its military export ban to Israel.

Germany’s export of military equipment to Israel was temporarily banned. lifted after ceasefire started On October 10th.

The Israeli army announced that a militant who approached its soldiers via the Yellow Line was killed.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health said Israeli forces had killed more than 370 Palestinians since the ceasefire began, and the bodies of six people killed in the attacks had been brought to local hospitals in the last 24 hours.

In the original Hamas-led offensive in 2023, militants killed nearly 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostage. Nearly all of the hostages or their remains were returned under ceasefires or other agreements.

At least 70,360 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which is affiliated with the Hamas-run government. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says almost half of those killed were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government in Gaza and its numbers are considered reliable by the UN and other international organizations.

Grieshaber reported from Berlin.