Netanyahu: Israel, Hamas in 2nd Phase  12/08 06:12

   

   TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said 
Sunday that Israel and Hamas are "very shortly expected to move into the second 
phase of the ceasefire," after Hamas returns the remains of the last hostage 
held in Gaza.

   Netanyahu spoke during a news conference with visiting German Chancellor 
Friedrich Merz and stressed that the second phase, which addresses the 
disarming of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, could begin 
as soon as the end of the month.

   Hamas has yet to hand over the remains of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old police 
officer who was killed in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the 
war. His body was taken to Gaza.

   The ceasefire's second stage also includes the deployment of an 
international force to secure Gaza and forming a temporary Palestinian 
government to run day-to-day affairs under the supervision of an international 
board led by U.S. President Donald Trump.

   A senior Hamas official on Sunday told The Associated Press the group is 
ready to discuss "freezing or storing or laying down" its weapons as part of 
the ceasefire in a possible approach to one of the most difficult issues ahead.

   Netanyahu says second phase will be challenging

   Netanyahu said few people believed the ceasefire's first stage could be 
achieved, and the second phase is just as challenging.

   "As I mentioned to the chancellor, 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," he said.

   The return of Gvili's remains -- and Israel's return of 15 bodies of 
Palestinians in exchange -- would complete the first phase of Trump's 20-point 
ceasefire plan.

   Hamas says it has not been able to reach all remains because they are buried 
under rubble left by Israel's two-year offensive in Gaza. Israel has accused 
the militants of stalling and threatened to resume military operations or 
withhold humanitarian aid if all remains are not returned.

   A group of families of hostages said in a statement that "we cannot advance 
to the next phase before Ran Gvili returns home."

   Meanwhile, Israeli military Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Sunday 
called the so-called Yellow Line that divides the Israeli-controlled majority 
of Gaza from the rest of the territory a "new border."

   "We have operational control over extensive parts of the Gaza Strip and we 
will remain on those defense lines," Zamir said. "The Yellow Line is a new 
border line, serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line 
of operational activity."

   Germany says support for Israel is unchanged

   Merz said Germany, one of Israel's closest allies, is assisting with the 
implementation of the second phase by sending officers and diplomats to a 
U.S.-led civilian and military coordination center in southern Israel, and by 
sending humanitarian aid to Gaza.

   The chancellor also said Germany still believes that a two-state-solution is 
the best possible option but that "the German federal government remains of the 
opinion that recognition of a Palestinian state can only come at the end of 
such a process, not at the beginning."

   The U.S.-drafted plan for Gaza leaves the door open to Palestinian 
independence. Netanyahu has long asserted that creating a Palestinian state 
would reward Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamas-run state on 
Israel's borders.

   Netanyahu also said that while he would like to visit Germany, he hasn't 
planned a diplomatic trip because he is concerned about an arrest warrant 
issued by the International Criminal Court, the U.N.'s top war crimes court, 
last year in connection with the war in Gaza.

   Merz said there are currently no plans for a visit but he may invite 
Netanyahu in the future. He added that he is not aware of future sanctions 
against Israel from the European Union nor any plans to renew German bans on 
military exports to Israel.

   Germany had a temporary ban on exporting military equipment to Israel, which 
was lifted after the ceasefire began on Oct. 10.

   Israel kills militant in Gaza

   The Israeli military said it killed a militant who approached its troops 
across the Yellow Line.

   Gaza's Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed more than 370 
Palestinians since the start of the ceasefire, and that the bodies of six 
people killed in attacks had been brought to local hospitals over the past 24 
hours.

   In the original Hamas-led attack in 2023, the militants killed around 1,200 
people and took more than 250 others hostage. Almost all the hostages or their 
remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals.

   Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed at least 70,360 Palestinians, 
according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run 
government. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and 
combatants, but says that nearly half the dead have been women and children. 
The ministry is part of Gaza's Hamas government and its numbers are considered 
reliable by the U.N. and other international bodies.