Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza is “almost” complete, and that he expects to move on to its second phase soon, at a joint Jerusalem press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Netanyahu said he intends to discuss the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan for the territory in his expected meeting with the president later this month in the United States, while acknowledging that the final deceased hostage in Gaza, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, must be returned to complete the initial phase.

The premier emphasized the difficulties ahead in both demilitarizing and deradicalizing Gaza, while highlighting Israel’s military achievements, noting the rise of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias, and asserting that he would not end his political career in exchange for a pardon in his corruption trial.

Netanyahu described the second phase of Trump’s plan — which aims to demilitarize Gaza and operationalize governance and security mechanisms that will be responsible for administering the territory in place of Hamas — as “more difficult” than phase one, while stressing that Israel is close to moving forward.

“We finished the first part, as you know, phase one,” he stated, before quickly qualifying, “We’re almost there,” as Gvili’s body has not yet been returned.

Under the October 9 agreement signed by Israel and Hamas, the terror group was given 72 hours to complete the return of all remaining living and deceased hostages. The process has been drawn out amid difficulties locating the bodies on Hamas’s part and mutual accusations of violations of the ceasefire.

The premier said that “peace opportunities are at hand” after Israeli military operations battered Iran’s Axis of Resistance over the past few years in wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and against the Islamic Republic........

© The Times of Israel