Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet President Donald Trump in the US on December 29 for talks on advancing the Gaza ceasefire plan.
It will be Mr Netanyahu's fifth visit to the country since Mr Trump returned to office in January, and the first since the US-brokered ceasefire came into effect in October. It comes days after Mr Netanyahu said he expected the second phase of the peace plan to begin soon.
“The Prime Minister will meet with President Trump on Monday, December 29. They will discuss the future steps and phases and the international stabilisation force of the ceasefire plan,” Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian told reporters in an online briefing on Monday. She did not reveal the location or duration of Mr Netanyahu's visit.
Israel's Channel 12 said Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu were expected to meet twice during an eight-day visit. It said Mr Netanyahu would visit the US President at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
News of the meeting came as a Hamas official said on Tuesday that the Gaza ceasefire cannot proceed to its second phase as long as Israeli "violations" persist, calling on mediators to put pressure on Israel to respect the deal.
“Any discussion about the second phase must be preceded by clear pressure on the occupation by the mediators, the United States, and all concerned parties, to ensure the full implementation of all the provisions of the first phase,” Hossam Badran, political bureau member, said.
"The second phase cannot begin as long as the [Israeli] occupation continues to violate the agreement and renege on its commitments," he said.
Mr Badran also rejected statements by Israeli military chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir in which he called the "yellow line" that divides the Israeli-held part of Gaza from the rest as a “new border” that would serve as a “forward defensive line for our communities”.
"These statements clearly reveal the occupation’s lack of commitment to the terms of the ceasefire agreement," Mr Badran said.
Despite a fragile ceasefire that came into effect on October 10, demolitions, daily gunfire, night-time incursions and violations have continued.
The handover of the last hostages' bodies in Gaza by Hamas would complete a key condition of the initial stage of the US President's plan to end the war.
Phase one included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The second phase is expected to be more complicated as it deals with the future governance of Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.
It also allows for an international stabilisation force to be stationed in Gaza and for rebuilding of the devastated enclave to begin. There have been some encouraging signs of progress and talks have been taking place in Cairo between mediators.
The ceasefire deal also calls for Hamas to surrender all of its weapons under the supervision of international monitors. Militants who disarm will be granted amnesty and the option to leave Gaza.
However, Hamas, whose ideology is based on armed resistance against Israel, says it will not disarm until Israel ends its occupation of Palestinian territories.
Failure to disarm Hamas could lead to renewed fighting with Israel, clashes with international troops and block progress on the rest of the peace plan.
The Palestinians are to form a “technocratic, apolitical” committee to run daily affairs in Gaza, under the supervision of a "Board of Peace" comprising international leaders.
The committee’s members have not been announced and Israel's opposition to having any Palestinians connected to Hamas or the Palestinian Authority on it could make choosing them more difficult.
It is also unclear whether the committee will give Palestinians a voice in the government or will exist only to implement decisions of the Board of Peace. If the committee is seen as just a facade, it may not gain public support and some Palestinian figures may baulk at joining it.
Under the ceasefire, Israel is to withdraw from all of Gaza except for a small buffer zone along the border. At the moment, Israel retains control of just over half of Gaza.
The plan says further withdrawals will be based upon “standards, milestones and timeframes linked to demilitarisation” to be negotiated by Israel, the US, the international force and other “guarantors”.
There are no firm timelines for further withdrawals, and Israel may refuse to pull back further.
