Civil Defense personnel use an excavator to search for the remains of victims in the rubble of a destroyed building in the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, on December 6, 2025. Photo Eyad BABA/AFP
Nearly two months after a fragile truce took effect in the Gaza Strip, the transition to the second phase of the agreement remains elusive and riddled with uncertainty, although new signs hint at a possible breakthrough.On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the next step in his peace plan would come very soon, brushing aside mounting concerns that the process had hit a political wall.Asked in the Oval Office about the actual timeline for phase two, he sidestepped the question and said only that the talks were “moving well.”At a joint press conference on Sunday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the first phase of the cease-fire was “almost over” and that he expected to move to the second “soon,” adding that he would discuss it with Trump when they meet later this month.But on...
Nearly two months after a fragile truce took effect in the Gaza Strip, the transition to the second phase of the agreement remains elusive and riddled with uncertainty, although new signs hint at a possible breakthrough.On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the next step in his peace plan would come very soon, brushing aside mounting concerns that the process had hit a political wall.Asked in the Oval Office about the actual timeline for phase two, he sidestepped the question and said only that the talks were “moving well.”At a joint press conference on Sunday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the first phase of the cease-fire was “almost over” and that he expected to move to the second “soon,” adding that he would discuss it with Trump when they meet later this...
