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Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that the initial part of the UN-endorsed Gaza ceasefire framework is nearing completion, and added that the next stage must include the demilitarization of Hamas.

Forthcoming Discussions in Washington

The Israeli prime minister said he would discuss the subsequent actions in the coming weeks in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza initiatives were formalized in a UN security council resolution on 17 November.

“We’re about to finish the initial phase,” Netanyahu said. “But we have to ensure that we secure the equivalent objectives in the second phase, and that’s something I look forward to addressing with President Trump.”

German Leader Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was addressing the media at a joint media briefing with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who stated: “The second phase must begin now and then phase three must also be examined.”

Merz is the initial head of state of a leading European state to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel since the International Criminal Court (ICC) released warrants for arrest for the Israeli prime minister and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in November last year for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity allegations in Gaza.

After securing victory in federal elections in February, Merz had said he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany regardless of the ICC warrants, but said on Sunday a visit was not currently being considered. Netanyahu disregards the warrants as “fabricated charges” from a “corrupt prosecuting office”.

Details of the Current Ceasefire

Under the initial stage of the existing ceasefire deal, Hamas released the remaining 20 surviving Israeli hostages in return 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 ceasefire line, leaving them in occupation of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Since the ceasefire was put into effect on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed more than 360 Palestinians, including an approximate 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in Hamas military actions over the identical timeframe.

Next Steps and Ambiguous Timeline

Neither Trump’s suggestions, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which largely endorsed them, detailed a schedule extending the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is required to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to pull back further, and an international stabilization force is to be set up under the authority of a “peace board” of world leaders chaired by Trump, supervising a technocratic Palestinian committee to run daily governance of Gaza.

The order of these steps is ambiguous in Trump’s plan or in resolution 2803. In his statements on Sunday, Netanyahu stressed Hamas disarmament.

“I think it’s crucial to make sure that Hamas adheres not only with the ceasefire, but also with their pledge which they undertook to disarm and have Gaza demilitarized,” he asserted.

Potential Alternatives and Diplomatic Stances

Netanyahu brought up the prospects of “alternatives” to the ISF, without explaining what those might be. He would not rule out Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “discussion”, and emphasized that Israel was strongly opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state, the aim of the peace process desired by most European and Arab capitals as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

ICC Warrants and Judicial Cases

Netanyahu claimed the reason he would not be able make a reciprocal visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he characterized as invented by the court’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a way of shifting focus from accusations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any misconduct, but stepped down from his role in May pending the outcome of an investigation.

Netanyahu remarked Khan was “damaging the standing of the ICC” with “unfounded charges of starvation and acts of genocide” from a “corrupt official”.

Another court, the international court of justice, is weighing up charges that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN independent investigative commission determined that Israel had committed genocide.

Asked about the prospect of Netanyahu visiting Germany, Merz told reporters on Sunday: “There is no reason to consider this at the moment.”