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Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the primary segment of the United Nations-backed Gaza truce plan is nearing conclusion, adding that the second phase must involve the disarmament of Hamas.

Upcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli prime minister revealed he would examine the following stages 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 conclude the initial stage,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to ensure that we secure the equivalent results in the next stage, and that’s something I am eager to addressing with President Trump.”

German Chancellor Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a shared news conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “Phase two must start immediately and then stage three must also be considered.”

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

After securing victory in federal elections in February, Merz had stated he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany notwithstanding the ICC warrants, but noted on Sunday a trip was not presently under consideration. Netanyahu disregards the warrants as “baseless charges” from a “biased prosecutor”.

Details of the Ongoing Ceasefire

During the first phase of the current ceasefire deal, Hamas released the remaining 20 living 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 At the same time, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a ceasefire line, resulting in them in occupation of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Following the ceasefire was announced on 10 October, Israeli forces have been responsible for the deaths of more than 360 Palestinians, including an estimated 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been fatally wounded in Hamas military actions over the identical period.

Future Stages and Unclear Sequencing

Not one of Trump’s proposals, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which mostly supported them, specified a schedule extending the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is required to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to retreat more, and an international stabilization force is to be created under the authority of a “peace board” of world leaders chaired by Trump, overseeing a administrative Palestinian committee to run day-to-day administration of Gaza.

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

“I think it’s vital 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 said.

Possible Alternatives and Diplomatic Positions

Netanyahu mentioned the possibility of “other options” to the ISF, without clarifying what those might be. He would not rule out Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “discussion”, and stressed that Israel was strongly against the creation of a Palestinian state, the objective of the peace process supported by most European and Arab governments as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Charges and Judicial Proceedings

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

Netanyahu remarked Khan was “harming the credibility of the ICC” with “false allegations of starvation and acts of genocide” from a “corrupt official”.

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

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