Israel announces entry into “phase two” of Gaza truce this month

08/12/2025

Updated at 2:15 p.m.

When are we at the so-called truce in the Gaza war? Is it not true that since the announcement of the Trump-sponsored deal, clashes and deaths have continued to occur in the Gaza Strip?

To resolve this problem, the Prime Minister … Israeli, Benjamin Netanyahumet this Sunday in Jerusalem with the ambassadors accredited to Israel. The truce, he said, “is maintained and moving forward”, and he has already personally given instructions to prepare for “phase two”: the arrival in the Gaza Strip of a multinational force (International Stabilization Force, ISF) with a United Nations mandate, which will accompany a technocratic government team.

This will most likely be chaired by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The force, on the other hand, will be made up of Muslim soldiers and police, many of whom come from countries like Indonesia or Egypt. Israel vetoed the presence of Qatar and Turkey in this forcebecause he considers that these two governments protect the Palestinian radicals of Hamas.

How far the Israeli army will then withdraw – whether to the border before the start of the war in 2023, or to another – is one of many gray points that remain to be negotiated. Netanyahu said on Sunday that he would discuss this and other aspects with President Trump later this month. By then, the “first phase” of the peace plan should have been completed with the end of the Hamas hostage crisis. Only the body of one of them remains to be discovered and repatriated.

For Israel, it must be clear from the outset that the task of the ISF must be to ensure the security of the civilian population of Gaza and to “disarm Hamas.” It is not known how many hundreds or thousands of radical militiamen are still alive in the Gaza Strip’s underground tunnels, nor how many weapons they still possess. At the meeting with ambassadors, Netanyahu was “skeptical” about the ISF’s ability to achieve this goal – according to the “Times of Israel” – but said Israel would give the multinational force a chance.

All Hamas is willing to offer is “storage of its weapons for years,” but

under no circumstances delivery and disarmament

A “senior Hamas official” consulted by the Associated Press news agency, Basesem Naïmnoted that his movement accepted the presence of the UN force to oversee the ceasefire in Gaza, but warned that it would not obey any of its orders “on Palestinian territory.” All Hamas is willing to offer is “storage of its weapons for years,” but under no circumstances delivery and disarmament. The so-called “phase two” of Trump’s peace plan therefore appears eventful since the day before.

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