WASHINGTON — The Gaza ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump between Israel and Hamas edged toward a second phase Tuesday, with talks turning to disarmament, withdrawals and postwar governance in Gaza. The push followed Trump’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and came after the federal government reopened from a 43-day shutdown that ended with a stopgap funding bill he signed, Dec. 30, 2025.
Gaza ceasefire enters a Phase Two pressure test
The first stage of the Gaza ceasefire returned all 20 remaining living Israeli hostages and freed hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, while aid deliveries rose. But one Israeli body remains in Gaza and the Rafah crossing with Egypt has stayed closed, issues outlined in a Reuters explainer on the truce’s next steps.
The Gaza ceasefire has largely halted the war’s heaviest fighting, yet both sides accuse the other of violations. Gaza health officials say Israeli fire has killed about 400 Palestinians since the truce began, and Palestinian militants have killed at least three Israeli soldiers.
Trump raises stakes, Netanyahu adds conditions
After the Mar-a-Lago meeting, Trump said he wanted to move to the next phase, which would include international peacekeepers in Gaza, according to remarks reported by Reuters. He warned Hamas to disarm, saying, “There will be hell to pay.” Israeli officials have said they want the first stage completed — including the return of the remains of the last hostage covered by that stage, Israeli police officer Ran Gvili — before moving to Phase Two.
Phase Two’s unfinished blueprint
Phase Two envisions a deeper Israeli pullback and the start of reconstruction alongside a transitional administration run by a Palestinian technocratic committee under an international “Board of Peace” chaired by Trump. Arab and Western officials say the board could be announced soon, The Associated Press reported, but key details such as troop contributors, the force’s mandate and how it would handle Hamas’ weapons remain unsettled.
Older road maps show what’s changed — and what hasn’t
Earlier road maps show the continuity. In June 2024, the U.N. Security Council backed a three-stage plan outlined by then-President Joe Biden, urging both sides to implement it “without delay and without condition,” Reuters reported from the vote. In January 2025, mediators in Doha announced another phased deal built around a six-week initial ceasefire and hostage releases, as Reuters reported at the time.
Now, as Phase Two negotiations start, the Gaza ceasefire’s fate still hinges on the same bottlenecks: disarmament, withdrawals, governance and reconstruction funding — and whether the Gaza ceasefire can hold long enough for the parties to negotiate them.
