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Benjamin Netanyahu has remarked that the primary segment of the United Nations-backed Gaza halt in hostilities agreement is nearing conclusion, adding that the subsequent stage must require the demilitarization of Hamas.

Forthcoming Discussions in Washington

The Israeli leader said he would discuss the following stages in the coming weeks in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were formalized in a UN security council resolution on 17 November.

“We are nearing complete the initial phase,” Netanyahu said. “But we have to make sure that we secure the equivalent objectives in the next phase, and that’s something I anticipate reviewing with President Trump.”

German Leader Meets with Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a shared media briefing with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who stated: “Phase two must come now and then stage three must also be taken into account.”

Merz is the initial leader of a significant European state to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel since the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered 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.

After winning federal elections in February, Merz had indicated he would invite Netanyahu to Germany despite the ICC warrants, but clarified on Sunday a trip was not presently planned. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “trumped-up charges” from a “biased prosecutor”.

Details of the Current Ceasefire

During the first phase of the existing ceasefire agreement, Hamas freed the final 20 surviving Israeli hostages in return for some 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and it has transferred all but one of 28 remains of hostages who died during the war. Concurrently, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a demarcation line, resulting in them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Following the ceasefire was announced on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed over 360 Palestinians, including an estimated 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in Hamas military actions over the same timeframe.

Next Steps and Unclear Timeline

Not one of Trump’s suggestions, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which mostly supported them, specified a schedule transitioning the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to withdraw farther, and an international stabilization force is to be established under the control of a “board of peace” of world leaders headed by Trump, overseeing a administrative Palestinian council to run daily governance of Gaza.

The timeline of these measures is ambiguous in Trump’s proposals or in resolution 2803. In his comments on Sunday, Netanyahu stressed Hamas disarmament.

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

Potential Alternatives and Diplomatic Stances

Netanyahu raised the possibility of “other options” to the ISF, without clarifying what those might be. He would not exclude Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, describing it as a subject of “debate”, and reiterated that Israel was strongly against the establishment of a Palestinian state, the goal of the peace process desired by most European and Arab capitals as well as the overwhelming majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Charges and Legal Cases

Netanyahu said the primary 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 diverting attention from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has denied any misconduct, but stepped down from his role in May awaiting the conclusion of an inquiry.

Netanyahu said Khan was “damaging the standing of the ICC” with “trumped-up allegations of starvation and acts of genocide” from a “compromised prosecutor”.

A separate court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is considering charges that Israel has perpetrated genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous investigative commission concluded that Israel had carried out genocide.

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