Crime

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said a second phase of the US-brokered plan to end the war in Gaza is close - but that key issues still need to be resolved. Under the second phase of President Donald Trump's plan, Israel should withdraw its troops further from Gaza as a transitional authority is set up and an international security force is deployed. Hamas is meant to disarm and reconstruction to begin. With questions outstanding over Hamas disarmament, one senior official has suggested the group is ready to consider "freezing or storing" its remaining weapons. The US and other mediators have been applying pressure on both sides to advance to the next stages of Trump's plan.