JERUSALEM, Israel – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to meet with President Trump again soon to discuss the next phase of the president's Gaza peace plan. Announcement of the meeting comes as Hamas rejected demands that the terror group disarm.
The two will meet at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 29th.
Israeli Government Spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian stated, "They will discuss the future steps and phases and the international stabilization force of the ceasefire plan."
Netanyahu disclosed that phase one of the agreement is nearly complete, with one more hostage body, that of Israeli Ron Givili, to be returned.
"And now we have the second phase, no less daunting, and that is to achieve the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza," Netanyahu declared. "There's a third phase, and that is to deradicalize Gaza, something that also people believed was impossible. But it was done in Germany, it was done in Japan, it was done in the Gulf states, it can be done in Gaza, too – but, of course, Hamas has to be dismantled."
Netanyahu spoke at a press conference with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, saying he looks forward to discussing the next phase with Trump.
"I think simultaneously with the advance of the second stage, 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 demilitarized," the prime minister emphasized.
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Despite having signed off on the ceasefire, Hamas officials are balking at the idea of disarming. Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal insists Hamas weapons are part of the "resistance project" and are "the right of our people to defend themselves."
Another key official, Khalil al-Hayya, claims Hamas won't disarm until there is a sovereign Palestinian state and won't accept an international force within Gaza, only one to monitor the borders. Both the disarmament and the global force are key components of Trump's plan.
A third senior Hamas official, Basem Naim, indicated that "Hamas is willing to discuss freezing its weapons or storing them as part of a ceasefire agreement."
In Gaza, Hamas and the Red Cross are searching again for the last Israeli hostage's body. Ran Givili was a police officer who was murdered and kidnapped into Gaza on October 7th, 2023.
In eastern Jerusalem, Israel raided the offices of UNRWA, the U.N. agency responsible for the Palestinian refugees, saying the move was a "debt collection procedure" for unpaid property taxes. UNRWA disagreed.
U.N. Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric said, "This compound remains United Nations premises and is inviolable and immune from any other form of interference. As recently confirmed by the International Court of Justice, any executive, administrative, judicial, or legislative action against United Nations property and assets is prohibited by the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations."
Israel's Bedrosian replied that UNRWA has proven to have "enormous failures" and should be dismantled.
She countered, "UNRWA continues to claim there's also not enough humanitarian aid going inside of the Gaza Strip. If you look at the facts, there are hundreds of trucks entering Gaza on a daily basis; there are thousands of trucks entering Gaza on a weekly basis. The aid is entering Gaza freely and without the help from UN agencies that terrorists have embedded themselves into."
In Lebanon overnight, Israel struck Hezbollah targets, including a compound to train terrorists for carrying out attacks against Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Lebanon's foreign minister earlier admitted that Hezbollah's weapons are connected to Iranian decision-making, and he told al-Araiya that Hezbollah "cannot hand over its weapons without an Iranian decision." He said that Hezbollah is currently "buying time and preserving itself internally to regain its power."
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