US Pres­ident Donald Trump has indicated that the next stage of his administration’s plan for Gaza is poised to begin soon, making the declaration even as violence flared anew in the region.Asked by a reporter in the Oval Office when phase two will commence, Trump avoided answering directly, saying the process is “going along well”, the Times of Israel reported.“It’s going on very well. We have peace in the Middle East.

People don’t realise it,” Yeni Safak quoted him as saying — a claim immediately challenged by the reported casualties from Israeli airstrikes.The attacks followed a threat from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netan­yahu to respond after soldiers were injured in clashes with Palestinian fighters in the city of Rafah.“Phase two is moving along. It’s going to happen pret­ty soon,” he added.

Tru­mp had previously declared on October 14 that phase two “had already begun”.According to the Middle East Monitor, during a recent phone call between the US president and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, the former raised several issues where he wanted Netanyahu to adjust his approach, starting with allowing the second phase of the agreement intended to end the war in Gaza. During the call, Trump asked Netanyahu: “Why they were being killed rather than allowed to surrender,” referring to Hamas fighters reportedly killed in Rafah.

Netanyahu reportedly replied that they were “armed and dangerous”, so they are being eliminated.Meanwhile, negotiations on the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire continue without significant progress at a moment when the truce appears particularly fragile. The first phase included a withdrawal of Israeli forces on October 10 to a line that still gave them military control of over half of Gaza, the release of all prisoners, living or dead, held by Hamas or its allies, and an increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)