By: Bright Ntuli
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the second phase of the United States-backed plan to end the war in Gaza is close, but he cautioned that several key issues still need to be resolved.
During the first phase of the current ceasefire agreement, Hamas released the final 20 surviving Israeli hostages in exchange for roughly two thousand Palestinian detainees held by Israel. The group also handed over one of the bodies of the 28 hostages who were killed during the war.
Netanyahu has emphasised that a central component of the next phase must be the disarmament of Hamas. His government insists that Hamas must be stripped of its military capabilities before any permanent political arrangement for Gaza can be finalised.
The proposed second phase includes the start of an Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, the possible deployment of an international security force, and the creation of a transitional governance structure under international oversight. These steps are expected to shape Gaza’s administration in the period leading up to a final political settlement.
However, several issues remain unresolved. These include the timeline for the introduction of international peacekeepers, the question of who will govern Gaza during the transition period, and the fate of the remaining bodies and any additional hostages who may still be missing.
