Trump, Netanyahu to discuss next phase of Gaza plan

JERUSALEM/PALM BEACH, Florida – US President Donald Trump is expected to push for progress in the stalled ceasefire in Gaza when he meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Dec 29 for talks that will include Israel’s concerns over Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran.

Mr Netanyahu said in December that Mr Trump has invited him for talks
, as Washington pushes to establish transitional governance and an international security force for the Palestinian enclave.

Mr Netanyahu, who will meet Mr Trump at his Mar-a-Lago beach club at 1pm local time, said on Dec 22 that discussions were expected to cover the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, as well as Iran and Lebanon.

Washington brokered ceasefires on all three fronts, but Israel is wary of its foes rebuilding their forces after they were considerably weakened in the war.

Next steps in Gaza ceasefire plan

All sides agreed in October to Mr Trump’s ceasefire plan
, which calls for Israel to withdraw from Gaza and Hamas to give up its weapons and forgo a governing role in the enclave.

The first phase of the ceasefire includes a partial Israeli withdrawal, an increase of aid and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian detainees and prisoners.

An Israeli official in Mr Netanyahu’s circle said that the Prime Minister will demand that the first phase of the ceasefire be completed by Hamas returning the remains of the last Israeli hostage left in Gaza, before moving ahead to the next stages.

The family of the deceased hostage, Mr Ran Gvili, has joined the Prime Minister’s visiting entourage and is expected to meet officials in Trump’s administration, which has indicated it sees the plan moving forward soon.

Israel has yet to open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, also a condition of Mr Trump’s plan, saying it will do so once Mr Gvili’s remains are returned.

Professor Chuck Freilich, a political scientist at Tel Aviv University, said that with an election due in October 2026, Mr Netanyahu was in a tight spot.

“He doesn’t want a clash with Trump in an election year,” said Prof Freilich, a former Israeli deputy national security adviser. “(Trump) wants to go forward, and Bibi (Netanyahu) is going to have to make some compromises there.”

Tenuous truce

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that Washington wants the transitional administration envisioned in Mr Trump’s plan – a Board of Peace and a body made up of Palestinian technocrats – to be in place soon to govern Gaza, ahead of the deployment of the international security force that is mandated by a Nov 17 UN Security Council resolution.

But Israel and Hamas have accused each other of major breaches of the deal and look no closer to accepting the much more difficult steps envisaged for the next phase.

Hamas, which has refused to disarm and has not returned the remains of the last Israeli hostage, has been reasserting its control, as Israeli troops remain entrenched in about half the territory.

Israel has indicated that if Hamas is not disarmed peacefully, it will resume military action to make it do so.

While the fighting has abated, it has not stopped entirely. Although the ceasefire officially began in October, Israeli strikes have killed more than 400 Palestinians – most of them civilians, according to Gaza health officials – and Palestinian militants have killed three Israeli soldiers.

Lebanon ceasefire also tested

In Lebanon, a US-backed ceasefire that was agreed to in November 2024 ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and required the disarmament of the powerful Iran-backed Shi’ite group, beginning in areas south of the river adjacent to Israel.

While Lebanon has said it is close to completing the mission within the year-end deadline of disarming Hezbollah, the group has resisted calls to lay down its weapons.

Israel says progress is partial and slow and has been carrying out near-daily strikes in Lebanon that it says are meant to stop Hezbollah from rebuilding. Iran, which fought a 12-day war with Israel in June, said last week that it conducted missile exercises for the second time in December.

Mr Netanyahu said Israel is not seeking a confrontation with Iran, but is aware of the reports, and said he will raise Tehran’s activities with Mr Trump.

The Israeli official said Mr Netanyahu was expected to present intelligence on Iranian efforts to build up its arms.

The official did not elaborate on any Israeli demands or actions regarding Iran.

Mr Trump in June ordered US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites
but has since then broached a potential deal with Tehran. REUTERS