ISRAEL’s far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that Israel and Hamas are “very shortly expected to move into the second phase of the ceasefire.”

Mr Netanyahu’s remarks came during a news conference in Jerusalem with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is on a visit to Israel.

The Israeli prime minister said that phase two will begin after Hamas returns the remains of the last hostage, police officer Ran Gvili, who was killed on October 7 2023.

Mr Netanyahu stressed that the second phase, the disarming of Hamas and the demilitarisation of Gaza could begin as soon as the end of the month.

The next stage also includes deploying an international force to secure Gaza and forming a temporary Palestinian government to run day-to-day affairs under the supervision of an international board led by President Donald Trump.

Hamas says it has not been able to reach all of the remains to complete the first stage because they are buried under rubble left by Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Israel has accused Hamas of stalling and threatened to “resume” military operations or withhold humanitarian aid if all remains are not returned.

Mr Merz said on Sunday that Germany is assisting with the implementation of the second phase by sending officers and diplomats to a civilian and military co-ordination centre in southern Israel and by sending humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The chancellor also said that Germany still believes that a two-state-solution is the best possible option but “a Palestinian state can only come at the end of such a process, not at the beginning.”

Germany had a temporary ban on exporting military equipment to Israel, which was lifted after the ceasefire began.

But many observers have called out Israel for continuing to kill Palestinians during the so-called ceasefire.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed more than 370 Palestinians since the start of the ceasefire in October.

Qatar’s prime minister on Saturday said that the Gaza ceasefire has reached a “critical moment.”

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told a conference in Doha, the Qatari capital, that international mediators were working “to force the way forward” to the second phase to cement the deal.

He said: “We cannot consider this a ceasefire yet.”

He said: “A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, there is stability back in Gaza, people can go in and out, which is not the case today.”