Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump are set to meet on Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed.
Their last dramatic moment together came in October, when Trump stood at the Knesset and proclaimed: “The hostages are back! It feels so good to say it.” Israel wanted to believe the nightmare was ending, but it ends only when the last family gets its loved one back.
That is why Gaza’s next phase cannot be discussed like a reset button. Phase 2 cannot take place if Hamas is not holding up its side of the bargain.
The deal’s spine was clear: Once the IDF withdrew under the plan, Hamas was expected to release all living and dead hostages within 72 hours, after gathering information on each captive held by the different Palestinian factions, and without propaganda ceremonies or media coverage.
So, what has Hamas committed to, and has it fulfilled those commitments? Partly. Many hostages have been returned, alive and deceased. But Hamas has also treated the agreement as a menu.
Netanyahu needs to ensure that the hostage deal is finished in full, enforce the terms already signed, and lock in US-Israel alignment on Iran. Anything else would be merely a delay.
Hamas failed to return all murdered hostage remains within 72 hours of the ceasefire, prompting the Hostage and Missing Families Forum to demand clarity on Israel’s next steps.
The Post also reported about Hamas threatening that the “ceasefire is over” after the IDF thwarted attempted breaches along the “Yellow Line,” the withdrawal and separation zone created under the deal.
And now, the entire process is hostage to one name: Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage still in Gaza. His parents have been forced to live between hope and the cruelest arithmetic. “We have 0.0001% hope that maybe Rani is alive,” said his mother, Talik.
The peace plan “cannot proceed” until he is home, because “without Rani, our country can’t heal.” Hamas is reportedly searching Gaza City for his remains.
If that is true, it only underscores what Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told this newspaper: “We know for certain that Hamas can easily release a significant number of hostages in accordance with the agreement.” Hamas can comply. The question is whether it is being made to.
Trump’s levarage matters if Phase 2 is going to work
This is where Trump’s leverage matters. If Phase 2 is to happen, Washington should insist on verifiable compliance before offering Hamas a diplomatic upgrade. That means the last hostage home, no more breaches, and a mechanism that blocks Hamas from rebuilding military power behind “aid.”
Netanyahu, for his part, must arrive with an implementable map for what “day after” governance looks like. A Post analysis said Phase 2 envisages a council of Palestinian technocrats to govern Gaza alongside an international stabilization force and warned that ineffective deployment risks a frozen conflict. Israel should not trade one frozen conflict for another.
Then comes the other file that can swallow everything: Iran. The Post reported that Netanyahu is expected to brief Trump on new plans to strike Iran and on Tehran’s ballistic-missile program. Yet another Post report quoted a US official saying Trump is choosing sanctions, not military force, and has reinstated “maximum pressure.”
Those approaches do not have to collide, but they do have to converge on a shared endgame: Stop Iran’s nuclear and missile progress, and curb its proxy network. That should include the Houthis, whose missiles and drones remain Tehran’s loudest regional megaphone today.
Iran, for its part, is not acting like a regime looking for a quiet off-ramp. In the final week before this meeting, Post reports described Tehran launching satellites “in a show of defiance” and conducting missile tests across multiple cities. Another analysis highlighted how geography and political constraints can push Jerusalem and Washington to assess the same intelligence through different timelines.
That is precisely why the meeting must produce redlines and a timeline that Iran cannot game.
Finally, a word about shiny distractions. Israel’s recognition of Somaliland has already produced a headline Trump could not resist. Asked whether the US would follow Israel’s lead, he replied: “Does anyone know what Somaliland is?” Whatever one thinks of the move, it should not become a substitute for decisions on Gaza and Iran.
On Monday, the agenda should be ruthless: Finish the hostage deal in full, enforce the terms already signed, and lock in US-Israel alignment on Iran. Anything less is a delay with better lighting.
