It comes as U. Hamas, which has reasserted control over Gaza since the ceasefire began last month, has said it will not release hostages in the second phase without an end to the war and Israeli forces' full withdrawal. Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from far-right governing partners to resume the war after the first phase ends in early March. He has said Israel is committed to victory over Hamas and the return of all hostages captured in the militants' Oct.
He has been a staunch supporter of Israel, but has also pledged to end wars in the Middle East and took credit for helping to broker the ceasefire agreement. The deal has led to the release of 18 hostages as well as hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. An Israeli airstrike on a vehicle in central Gaza wounded five people Sunday, including a child who was in critical condition, according to Al-Awda Hospital.
The war began when thousands of Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1, people, mostly civilians, and taking around hostage.
Over were freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November , eight have been rescued alive and dozens of bodies have been recovered by Israeli forces. Israeli forces have pulled back from most areas and allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to devastated northern Gaza while aid flows in. Negotiations on the second phase, which would end the war and see the remaining 60 or so hostages returned, are set to begin Monday with mediators the U.
He met with Netanyahu in Israel last week and they were expected to formally begin talks on the second phase on Monday. Trump, who brokered normalization agreements between Israel and four Arab countries in his first term, is believed to be seeking a wider agreement in which Israel would forge ties with Saudi Arabia. But the kingdom has said it would only agree to such a deal if the war ends and there is a credible pathway to a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the Mideast war.
