US President Donald has said that phase two of his Gaza plan is "going to happen pretty soon," insisting that progress on the agreement is continuing despite fresh Israeli violations of the ceasefire.
Asked by reporters when the second phase would begin, Trump avoided giving a date, saying only that things were "going along well."
"They had a problem today with a bomb that went off — hurt some people pretty badly, probably killed some people," he said at the White House, referring to Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza late Wednesday that killed at least five Palestinians in a new breach of the ceasefire.
"They’re telling me it just happened. But it’s going on very well. We have peace in the Middle East. People don’t realise it," he added.
The strikes came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to "respond accordingly" to the injury of soldiers in clashes with Palestinian fighters in Rafah.
Phase one of the ceasefire agreement includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the creation of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israel’s attacks have killed more than 70,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, and wounded nearly 171,000 others.
It had reduced most of the enclave to ruins and displaced all of its population.
