President Donald Trump plans to announce that the Gaza ceasefire is moving into its second phase in the coming weeks, according to a report by the news outlet Axios on Thursday.
The report followed comments Trump made in the Oval Office on Wednesday, saying that Phase 2 is "going to happen pretty soon" and that things were "going along well."
While acknowledging the latest clashes between Hamas and the IDF, he added that, "We have peace in the Middle East. People don't realize it."
At the moment, the ceasefire is stuck in its first phase as Hamas has not released all bodies of the killed Israeli hostages. It currently still holds the body of IDF Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili in the Gaza Strip.
After the handover of the body of Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak on Wednesday evening, an Israeli delegation traveled to Cairo on Thursday to discuss the return of Gvili's body.
In response to Hamas's dragging out of the return process, Israel has postponed further withdrawals of its troops, which currently control 51% of the Gaza Strip, and so far, refused to open the Rafah border crossing.
Under U.S. pressure, Israel announced Wednesday that it would reopen the crossing to allow civilians to exit the strip; however, Egypt denied that the move had been coordinated with Cairo and accused Israel of trying to "displace" Gazans.
The second phase of the ceasefire would include further Israeli withdrawals while the International Stabilization Force (ISF) deploys in Gaza to take over security, while civilian affairs will be handled by the Trump-chaired Board of Peace and a Palestinian technocratic committee serving under it.
"All of the different elements are pretty well-advanced. It's all moving ahead, and the aim is to announce it before people break for the holidays," a Western source directly involved in the process told Axios.
The ISF and the board received the endorsement of the U.N. Security Council two weeks ago.
However, discussions over which countries will contribute troops to the ISF, and who will sit on the board and the administrative committees are still ongoing, despite U.S. officials telling Axios they're in the "last stages."
The most critical point continues to be the question whether Hamas will agree to disarm, as most countries have indicated they would not commit troops while they run the danger of being targeted by Hamas.
According to Axios, the U.S., Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey are working to present Hamas with a comprehensive agreement that will be endorsed by all countries in the region to get it to accept.
This is to include the proposal for Hamas to first hand over heavy weapons before starting to lay down lighter weapons.
"The equation will be IDF out of Gaza but Hamas out of power," a Western source said, "The big question is will Hamas agree to disarm and allow the new government to take power and govern the place. They can't be in government directly or indirectly through their weapons. The moment of truth will come in the next few weeks."
"Bibi [Netanyahu] is skeptical but committed to give it a chance to work," the source said.
U.S. officials said the Board of Peace would be headed by Trump and include around 10 other Western and Arab leaders, while U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, Trump's advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, and other senior officials would sit on an international executive board.
These boards will supervise a technocratic government comprising Palestinian leaders who are unaffiliated with Hamas, Fatah or other Palestinian groups but have management and business experience.
The U.S. is currently negotiating over the candidates for this government with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and other stakeholders, sources said.
"The Trump administration and our partners are working diligently to implement President Trump's historic 20-point plan that will deliver security and prosperity to Gazans and the broader region," a White House official added.
Republished with permission from All Israel News