PALM BEACH, Fla. (TNND) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump on Monday at his Mar-a-Lago estate as a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza is at risk of falling apart before its second phase.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that Trump created has mostly held, but progress has slowed recently. Both sides accuse one another of violations, and divisions have emerged among the U.S., Israel and Arab countries about the path forward.
The first phase of the ceasefire began in October, with Israel Defense Forces withdrawing to the agreed-upon deployment lines and Palestinians returning to northern Gaza. So far, all but one of the 251 hostages have been released by Hamas.
The second phase involves seeing the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision by a group chaired by Trump and known as the Board of Peace. The Palestinians would form a “technocratic, apolitical” committee to run daily affairs in Gaza, under Board of Peace supervision.
It further calls for normalized relations between Israel and the Arab world, and a possible pathway to Palestinian independence.
The Board of Peace would oversee Gaza’s reconstruction under a two-year, renewable U.N. mandate. Its members had been expected to be named by the end of the year and might even be revealed following Monday’s meeting, but the announcement could be pushed into next month.
Two main challenges have complicated moving to the second phase, according to an official who was briefed on those meetings. Israeli officials have been taking a lot of time to vet and approve members of the Palestinian technocratic committee from a list given to them by the mediators, and Israel continues its military strikes.
Trump’s plan also calls for the International Stabilization Force, proposed as a multinational body, to maintain security. But it, too, has yet to be formed.
President Donald Trump speaks during a NORAD, North American Aerospace Defense Command, Tracks Santa Operation call at his Mar-a-Lago club, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Hamas said earlier this month that the group is ready to discuss “freezing or storing or laying down” its weapons as part of the ceasefire.
Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have been mediating the ceasefire, are pressing for a deal to disarm Hamas and an additional Israeli withdrawal from Gaza before moving forward with the 20-point plan.
On the other hand, the U.S. wants to quickly build temporary housing for Palestinians in parts of southern Gaza still controlled by Israeli troops. Three officials said the United Arab Emirates has agreed to fund reconstruction in Gaza, including new communities, although they said discussions are ongoing and plans remain unsettled.
It will be Trump’s first in-person meeting with Netanyahu since he went to Israel in October to mark the start of the ceasefire.
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Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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