Israel will begin negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, including an exchange of the remaining Israeli hostages with Palestinian detainees, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday, adding that Israel demanded a complete demilitarisation of the enclave.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, Jack Guez/Reuters
Israel will begin negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, including an exchange of the remaining Israeli hostages with Palestinian detainees, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday, adding that Israel demanded a complete demilitarisation of the enclave.
Negotiations for the second phase of the deal were supposed to be under way before the first phase ends on March 2, but Qatar said the talks have not officially started yet.
A "Hezbollah model" in Gaza would not be acceptable to Israel "and therefore we need a total demilitarisation of Gaza and no presence of the Palestinian Authority", Saar said in a press conference.
He added that Israel was aware of an alternative plan by Arab states for Gaza, made to counter U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to redevelop the strip under U.S. control, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said is worthy of exploration.
Israel would not support a plan that would see civilian control of Gaza transferred from Hamas to the Palestinian authority, Saar added.
Reporting by James Mackenzie
Israel targeted Hamas' armed wing spokesperson Abu Ubaida in a joint operation carried out by the military and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.
A post-war plan for Gaza is circulating within President Donald Trump's administration that would see the U.S. administer the war-torn enclave for at least a decade, the temporary relocation of Gaza's population and its rebuilding as a tourist resort and manufacturing hub, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas confirmed on Saturday the death of its Gaza military chief Mohammad Sinwar, a few months after Israel said it killed him in a strike in May.
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