(NewsNation) — President Trump is scheduled to meet Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the next stage of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza.
The bilateral meeting is set for 1 p.m. Eastern at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, where the president spent the holiday weekend.
Israel and Hamas in October agreed to a ceasefire meant to permanently end the war in Gaza. The breakthrough came two years after the militant group’s incursion into Israel left more than 1,200 Israelis dead, prompting Israel forces to go after Hamas in Gaza.
Under the second phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is obligated to disarm and cede governing power as Israeli troops withdraw.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that Washington wants the transitional administration envisioned in the Trump administration’s plan — a Board of Peace and a body made up of Palestinian technocrats — to be in place soon to govern Gaza.
An international security force, mandated by a U.N. Security Council resolution, would be deployed.
Complicating matters: Israel and Hamas have accused each other of major breaches of the peace deal. The return of living and deceased Israeli hostages was the linchpin of the first phase of the ceasefire, but the remains of one hostage have not been returned.
Since October, Israeli strikes have killed more than 400 Palestinians — most of them civilians, according to Gaza health officials — and Palestinian militants have killed three Israeli soldiers.
Reuters news service contributed to this report.
