Netanyahu casts the announced start of Gaza ceasefire's next phase as largely symbolic

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cast the announcement that the fragile ceasefire in Gaza would advance to its second phase as largely symbolic, raising questions about how its more challenging elements will be carried out.

Speaking late Wednesday with the parents of the last Israeli hostage whose remains are still in Gaza, Netanyahu said the governing committee of Palestinians announced as part of the second phase was merely a “declarative move,” rather than the sign of progress described by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

Israeli police officer Ran Gvili's parents had earlier pressed Netanyahu not to advance the ceasefire until their son's remains were returned, which Israel’s Hostage and Missing Families Forum said Wednesday the prime minister had promised.

As the plan was announced, Netanyahu told Gvili’s parents that his return remained a top priority.

The announcement of the ceasefire's second phase marked a significant step forward but left many questions unanswered.

Those include the makeup of a proposed, apolitical governing committee of Palestinian experts and an international “Board of Peace." They also include the timing of deployment of international forces and reopening of Gaza’s southern Rafah border crossing, as well as concrete details about disarming Hamas and rebuilding Gaza.

Progress announced but hardship endures

Palestinians in Gaza who spoke to The Associated Press questioned what moving into phase two would actually change on the ground, pointing to ongoing bloodshed and challenges securing basic necessities.

More than 450 people have been killed since Israel and Hamas agreed to halt fighting in October, Gaza's Health Ministry said on Thursday.

Those casualties, which UNICEF said include more than 100 children, are among the 71,441 Palestinians killed since the start of Israel's offensive, according to the ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.

“We see on the ground that the war has not stopped, the bloodshed has not stopped, and our suffering in the tents has not ended. Every day there is suffering in the tents, in the rain and the sun, from sun to rain to death,” said Samed Abu Rawagh, a man displaced to southern Gaza from Jabaliya.

Hamza Abu Shahab, a man from eastern Khan Younis in southern Gaza, said he was waiting for tangible changes, such as easier access to food, fuel and medical care, rather than promises.

“We were happy with this news, but we ask God that it is not just empty words,” he told the AP in Khan Younis. “We need this news to be real, because in the second phase we will be able to return to our homes and our areas … God willing, it won’t just be empty promises."

Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people has struggled to keep cold weather and storms at bay while facing shortages of humanitarian aid and a lack of more substantial temporary housing, which is badly needed during the winter months.

This is the third winter since the war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants stormed into southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others.

Challenges lie ahead

The second phase of the ceasefire will confront thornier issues than the first, including disarming Hamas and transitioning to a new governance structure after nearly two decades of the group's rule in the strip

The United Nations has estimated reconstruction will cost over $50 billion. This process is expected to take years and little money has been pledged so far.

Hamas has said it will dissolve its existing government to make way for the committee announced as part of the ceasefire's second phase. But it has not made clear what will happen to its military arm or the scores of Hamas-affiliated civil servants and the civilian police.

Israel has insisted Hamas must lay down its weapons, while the groups’ leaders have rejected calls to surrender despite two years of war, saying Palestinians have “the right to resist.”

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Metz reported from Jerusalem.