The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was aimed at encouraging progress on phase two of the Gaza peace agreement.
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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump acknowledged that the next phase of the Gaza peace plan will require the militant group Hamas to lay down its arms, but said in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that rebuilding the Palestinian enclave could begin sooner.
The talks were aimed at accelerating progress on the second phase of a deal to end the war secured by the administration three months ago, as progress on a deal to disarm Hamas remains stalled.
“We need to be disarmed,” President Trump told reporters from his residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 29. Regarding the implementation of the second phase, President Trump said, “We need to disarm Hamas, or we need to disarm it very quickly.”
The US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas went into effect in October, and the first phase included the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, increased humanitarian aid, and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The remains of all living Israeli hostages and all but Ran Gviri, who was believed to be dead, were returned. Prior to his meeting with President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu met with Gviri’s parents in Florida.
But moving to the next stage of the 20-point plan has proven difficult, with both sides accusing the other of violating the agreement.
The plan ultimately calls for the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, and a new leadership of the Gaza Strip. The United States had hoped that approval of the plan by the U.N. Security Council in November would pave the way for the creation of an International Stabilization Force to provide security for Gaza and a peace commission to oversee the transitional government, although the composition of both remains under discussion.
President Trump said earlier this month that he aims to announce in January which world leaders will serve on the board.
He said he expects Florida’s rebuilding to “begin quickly” and that hygiene efforts have begun.
Deadlocks over other aspects of the deal threaten to undermine Trump’s biggest foreign policy achievement since he returned to office. Trump celebrated the accomplishment during a trip to the Middle East in October, addressing the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and holding a signing ceremony in Egypt.
The two-year conflict, which began with a surprise Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has ebbed and flowed since a cease-fire eased fighting and a peace deal, with Israel carrying out additional attacks and killing hundreds of Palestinians, Gaza health officials said. The death of two Israeli soldiers, who the government said were killed by Hamas militants, also threatens to collapse the deal.
President Trump is ending 2025 with two high-profile diplomatic moves aimed at addressing the two biggest conflicts during his second term. The day before his meeting with Netanyahu, President Trump welcomed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to Mar-a-Lago and spoke by phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to work on a peace plan for Ukraine.
