Sawt Falasteen - Netanyahu to meet Trump on future of Israel-Hamas truce

After Trump claimed credit for securing the Israel-Hamas truce after more than 15 months of fighting and bombing, he was likely to urge his ally to stick to the deal -- parts of which have yet to be finalised.

In a possible sign of progress, Israel said hours ahead of the White House meeting that it was sending a team to mediator Qatar to discuss the second phase of the agreement, which could lead to a more permanent end to the war.

Palestinian group Hamas said on Tuesday that negotiations for the second phase had begun, with spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou saying the focus was on "shelter, relief and reconstruction" for the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

Trump has touted a plan to "clean out" Gaza, calling for Palestinians to move to Egypt or Jordan.

Both countries have flatly rejected his proposal, as have the territory's own residents.

"Trump thinks Gaza is a pile of garbage -- absolutely not," said Hatem Azzam, a 34-year-old resident of the Gaza Strip.

"Trump and Netanyahu must understand the reality of the Palestinian people and the people of Gaza. This is a people deeply rooted in their land. We will not leave," he added.

In line with the ceasefire, Palestinian militant groups and Israel have begun exchanging hostages held in Gaza for prisoners in Israeli custody.

- 'Redrawn the map' -

The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, taking into Gaza 251 hostages, dozens of whom have since been confirmed dead.

Seventy-six are still held in the Palestinian territory including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Families of the Israeli hostages have been urging all sides to ensure the agreement is maintained so their loved ones can be freed.

Relatives of the youngest hostages, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, made a plea on Monday for information on the two boys and their mother, Shiri, after their father Yarden Bibas was released in the latest swap.

"Shiri, Ariel and Kfir, we miss you so much and are waiting for you," said Ofri Bibas, Yarden's sister.

Before leaving for Washington, Netanyahu said Israel's wars with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and its confrontations with Iran since October 2023 had "redrawn the map" of the Middle East.

"I believe that working closely with President Trump we can redraw it even further, and for the better," he said.

Trump, who prides himself on his dealmaking abilities, may seek to offer Netanyahu incentives to sticking to the truce, such as a normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia.

Efforts under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden for normalisation froze with the Gaza war, and Saudi Arabia has in recent months hardened its position insisting there would be no agreement without a Palestinian state.

Trump said Sunday that talks with Israel and other Middle Eastern countries were "progressing" -- before warning that he had "no assurances" and "no guarantees" that the truce in Gaza would hold.

The US president's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who met Netanyahu on Monday over terms for the second phase of the truce, said that he was "certainly hopeful".

- West Bank violence -

Since the truce took effect on January 19, Israel has turned its focus to the occupied West Bank, launching a deadly operation in the area around Jenin, a hotbed of Palestinian militancy.

UN aid agency UNRWA, which is now banned in Israel, warned the refugee camp of Jenin was "going into a catastrophic direction".

"Large parts of the camp were completely destroyed in a series of detonations by the Israeli forces. It is estimated that 100 houses were destroyed or heavily damaged," said UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army said a gunman killed two Israeli soldiers in an attack on a military post in Tayasir, south of the Jenin area in the northern West Bank. The assailant was also killed.

Asked about how he viewed a possible annexation of the West Bank, Trump did not rule it out, telling reporters that Israel was "a small country in terms of land".

"It's a pretty small piece of land. And it's amazing that they've been able to do what they've been able to do," he said.

Under the Gaza ceasefire's ongoing 42-day first phase, Hamas was to free 33 hostages in staggered releases in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Four hostage-prisoner exchanges have already taken place, with militants freeing 18 hostages in exchange of some 600 mostly Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

The truce has also led to a surge of food, fuel, medical and other aid into Gaza, and allowed people displaced by the war to return to the north of the Palestinian territory.

Hamas's attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people on Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory response has killed at least 47,518 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN considers these figures as reliable.

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D.Khalil--SF-PST