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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed his close confidant, Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, to lead negotiations on the second phase of the cease-fire and hostage-return deal, alongside President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. Prior to this, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Mossad chief Dedi Barnea led the talks.
After the announcement that the last six living hostages set to be released in Phase I - Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, Tal Shoham, Eliya Cohen, Avraham Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed - would be freed on Saturday, an Israeli official said Wednesday evening that this was "an important achievement by Netanyahu, which was done in full coordination with the United States."
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Ronen Bar, Benjamin Netanyahu and Ron Dermer
(Photos: Emil Salman, Alex Kolomoisky, Yair Sagi)
The same source said that "the prime minister once again managed to shorten the pace of the release and reach an agreement on the return of all the living hostages for Phase I as early as this week, in addition to the return of the dead hostages. If the agreement is realized, Israel will complete Phase I of the agreement and guarantee the return of all the hostages from this stage, an achievement that not many thought would happen."
He said that as part of the negotiations, Israel had approved allowing "only a small number" of caravans and heavy equipment into Gaza. "This will in no way change the feasibility of implementing Trump's plan for voluntary immigration and creating another Gaza, to which Prime Minister Netanyahu is fully committed," he claimed.
The source added that Israel will enter negotiations on Phase II in the coming days, which is - as he put it - "a political phase that deals with the question of the conditions for ending the war. Accordingly, the one who will lead the efforts on behalf of Israel is the Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, and he will do so with the U.S. president's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff."
He further noted that "Israel will raise its security demands during the negotiations, based on the war goals determined by the political-security cabinet. If Israel is forced to return to fighting in Gaza in light of Hamas' refusal, it will do so forcefully and lethally and with the full backing of the Trump administration, a renewed stockpile of weapons that has been released, fresh forces and a completely different way of fighting."
The source's announcement came after the breakthrough achieved Tuesday, in which Hamas agreed to release the six remaining living hostages as part of Phase I on Saturday. In addition, on Thursday, Hamas will return four dead hostages - with four more dead to be returned in another round of relelases next week. Israel has been pressing in recent days to bring forward the release of the live hostages; according to the original outline, only three were supposed to be released on Saturday and another three next week
Sources among the mediators told the Wall Street Journal that this was made possible after Israel agreed to open negotiations on Phase II and to allow the entry of caravans to provide shelter for displaced Gazans. In recent days, there has been talk in Israel that hundreds of caravans will be agreed upon, even though the original agreement stipulated that 60,000 caravans (in addition to 200,000 tents) would enter Gaza in Phase I. Hamas has so far accused Israel of violating the agreement due to the delay in providing shelters for the displaced, and the caravan issue was at the center of the crisis last week.
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For Hamas, the advance release of the living hostages is also a prelude to Israel's release of Palestinian terrorists: Hamas claimed Tuesday evening that 602 Palestinian prisoners will be released on Saturday. Some 445 of them are residents of the Gaza Strip who were arrested after October 7, 50 who were sentenced to life imprisonment, 60 who were sentenced to long prison sentences, and 47 who were released in the Shalit deal. Another 108 prisoners will be deported to Egypt as a first stop, before being transferred to other countries, including 13 prisoners who suffer from serious medical problems.
Negotiations on Phase II of the deal are expected to be very complicated, and Israel has already made it clear that it will demand the demilitarization of the Strip and a guarantee that Hamas will not be able to control it. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel will demand in the negotiations that the Palestinian Authority also not be present in the Strip "the day after."
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Caravans to shelter displaced Gazans enter Rafah
(Photo: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters)
Hamas has signaled that it will agree to formally give up control of the Gaza government, but according to estimates it is not expected to make demands such as disarmament or the exile of its leaders - so it is unclear how an agreement can be reached on Phase II, in which all the remaining living hostages are supposed to be released. Trump's envoy to the region, Witkoff, made it clear that the U.S. is determined to reach the second phase . "We intend to succeed, we are leaving no one behind," he said Sunday night at an event in Miami alongside captivity survivor Noa Argamani.
So far, as part of Phase I of the deal, 19 Israeli hostages have been released and, in addition - as part of a separate agreement with the Thai government - five Thai citizens who were kidnapped on October 7 have also been released. After the release of the remaining 14 hostages as part of Phase I - six living who will be released on Saturday and eight dead who will be released in two additional stages on Thursday and next week - 59 hostages will remain in Gaza, including at least 28 dead hostages. The dead who remain in Gaza after Phase I are supposed to be handed over to Israel as part of the deal's outline only in Phase III, which also includes the long-term reconstruction of the Strip.