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
Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned Israel’s plan to expand its military operations in the Gaza Strip, claiming such actions would worsen what it called an already dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that Israel's goal is not to take over Gaza, but to free Gaza from Hamas and enable a peaceful government to be established there, the prime minister's office said on X.
The United States mission to the United Arab Emirates said on Friday it was aware of information indicating threats towards the Jewish and Israeli communities in the UAE.
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