Benjamin Netanyahu has said the first stage of the UN‑endorsed Gaza ceasefire plan is close to completion, insisting that the next phase must involve the disarmament of Hamas.
The Israeli Prime Minister confirmed he would discuss the next steps later this month in Washington with US President Donald Trump, whose proposals for Gaza were codified in a UN Security Council resolution on 17 November. “We’re about to finish the first stage,” Netanyahu said. “But we have to make sure that we achieve the same results in the second stage, and that’s something I look forward to discussing with President Trump.”
Netanyahu was speaking at a joint press conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who added: “Phase two must come now, and then phase three must also be considered.” Merz is the first leader of a major European state to meet Netanyahu in Israel since the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in November last year for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Merz, who won federal elections in February, had previously said he would invite Netanyahu to Germany despite the ICC warrants, but on Sunday stated a visit was not currently under consideration. Netanyahu has dismissed the warrants as “trumped‑up charges” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.
Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, Hamas released the last 20 living Israeli hostages in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel. It also handed over all but one of the 28 bodies of hostages killed during the war. Israeli forces withdrew to a ceasefire line, leaving them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.
Since the ceasefire was declared on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed more than 360 Palestinians, including an estimated 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have died in Hamas attacks during the same period.
Neither Trump’s proposals nor UN resolution 2803, which largely endorsed them, set out a timetable for extending the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is expected to disarm, Israeli troops are meant to withdraw further, and an international stabilisation force is to be established under the control of a “board of peace” chaired by Trump, overseeing a technocratic Palestinian committee to administer Gaza. The sequencing of these steps remains unclear.
Netanyahu emphasised Hamas disarmament as the priority. “I think it’s important to make sure that Hamas complies not only with the ceasefire, but also with their commitment, which they undertook to disarm and have Gaza demilitarise,” he said.
He raised the possibility of “alternatives” to the stabilisation force, without elaborating. Netanyahu would not rule out Israeli annexation of the West Bank, describing it as a matter for “discussion”, and reiterated Israel’s opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state, the goal of most European and Arab capitals and the majority of UN member states.
Netanyahu said he could not make a return visit to Germany because of the ICC warrants, which he claimed were fabricated by chief prosecutor Karim Khan to divert attention from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has denied wrongdoing but stepped aside in May pending an investigation. Netanyahu accused Khan of “destroying the reputation of the ICC” with “trumped‑up charges of starvation and genocide”.
Separately, the International Court of Justice is considering charges that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israel had committed genocide.
Asked about the possibility of Netanyahu visiting Germany, Merz told reporters: “There is no reason to discuss this at the moment.”
