Netanyahu: Israel, Hamas will enter ceasefire’s 2nd phase after hostage remains returned

The truce deal in Gaza edged forward on Sunday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel and Hamas are “very shortly expected to move into the second phase of the ceasefire,” once Hamas returns the remains of the last Israeli hostage held in Gaza. He spoke during a joint news conference with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Netanyahu said the next phase could begin before the end of the month if all terms of the first phase are completed. The remains of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer killed in the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack and taken into Gaza, have not yet been returned.

Under the agreed plan, the second phase includes disarming Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, deployment of an international force, and formation of a temporary Palestinian administration under international supervision led by US President Donald Trump.

SECOND PHASE EXPECTED TO BE MORE DIFFICULT

According to the Associated Press, the group is willing to discuss “freezing or storing or laying down” its weapons as part of the ceasefire, signalling rare public readiness to address a major sticking point.

Netanyahu said that many doubted the first phase of the ceasefire could succeed, and he expects the next stage to be even tougher.

“As I mentioned to the chancellor, there’s a third phase, and that is to deradicalize Gaza, something that also people believed was impossible. But it was done in Germany, it was done in Japan, it was done in the Gulf States. It can be done in Gaza, too, but of course Hamas has to be dismantled,” he said.

The handover of Gvili’s remains, along with Israel’s return of 15 Palestinian bodies, would complete the first stage of Trump’s 20-point plan. Hamas says locating all the remains is difficult because many bodies lie under rubble from Israel’s two-year offensive. Israel has accused Hamas of delaying and warned it may resume operations or restrict humanitarian aid if all remains are not delivered.

Meanwhile, Israel’s military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir called the Yellow Line — the line separating Israeli-held areas of Gaza from the rest of the territory — as “a new border”.

“We have operational control over extensive parts of the Gaza Strip and we will remain on those defense lines,” he said. “The Yellow Line is a new border line, serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity.”

The German Chancellor said Germany continues to support Israel and is helping with the second phase by sending officers and diplomats to a US-led coordination centre in southern Israel, while also providing humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The Hamas-led attack in 2023 killed about 1,200 people and more than 250 were taken hostage. Most hostages or their remains have since been returned through ceasefires or separate deals.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed at least 70,360 Palestinians. The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas-run administration, does not separate combatants from civilians, but says almost half of those killed were women and children.

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