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Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated that the first stage of the UN-endorsed Gaza truce agreement is close to finalization, and added that the next stage must require the demilitarization of Hamas.

Forthcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli leader revealed he would examine the next steps in late November in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza plans were outlined in a UN security council resolution on 17 November.

“We are close to complete the first phase,” Netanyahu said. “But we have to guarantee that we achieve the identical results in the next phase, and that’s something I am eager to addressing with President Trump.”

German Chancellor Meets with Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a shared news conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who commented: “Phase two must come now and then the third phase must also be examined.”

Merz is the first head of state of a major European state to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court delivered arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in November last year for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

After winning federal elections in February, Merz had indicated he would invite Netanyahu to Germany regardless of the ICC warrants, but clarified on Sunday a trip was not currently under consideration. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “baseless charges” from a “corrupt prosecuting office”.

Terms of the Ongoing Truce

Under the first phase of the present ceasefire agreement, Hamas released the remaining 20 surviving Israeli hostages in return for some 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and it has handed over all but one of 28 bodies of hostages who died during the war. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a ceasefire line, resulting in them in occupation of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Since the ceasefire was put into effect on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed over 360 Palestinians, including an approximate 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been fatally wounded in Hamas attacks over the same timeframe.

Next Steps and Unclear Sequencing

Not one of Trump’s proposals, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which largely endorsed them, detailed a schedule extending the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are meant to pull back further, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be set up under the control of a “board of peace” of world leaders headed by Trump, overseeing a administrative Palestinian committee to run daily administration of Gaza.

The sequencing of these actions is unclear in Trump’s proposals or in resolution 2803. In his statements on Sunday, Netanyahu put his emphasis on Hamas disarmament.

“I think it’s important to make sure that Hamas abides not only with the ceasefire, but also with their obligation which they agreed to to disarm and have Gaza demilitarise,” he said.

Potential Options and Diplomatic Positions

Netanyahu brought up the prospects of “other options” to the ISF, without elaborating on what those might be. He would not dismiss Israeli annexation of the West Bank, describing it as a subject of “negotiation”, and emphasized that Israel was adamantly opposed the creation of a Palestinian state, the aim of the peace process desired by most European and Arab governments as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

ICC Charges and Legal Cases

Netanyahu stated the reason he would not be able to make a reciprocal visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he described 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 denied any wrongdoing, but recused himself from his role in May pending the conclusion of an investigation.

Netanyahu said Khan was “destroying the standing of the ICC” with “unfounded allegations of starvation and genocide” from a “corrupt official”.

Another court, the international court of justice, is considering allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN independent investigative commission determined that Israel had carried out genocide.

Asked about the possibility of Netanyahu visiting Germany, Merz told reporters on Sunday: “There is little cause to discuss this at the current juncture.”