Gaza ceasefire won’t have a 2nd phase, ‘senior official’ pledges to pro-Netanyahu outlet

For the second time this week, Channel 14 — a pro-Netanyahu network that is the only Israeli outlet to which the prime minister has granted interviews since 2021 — reports that there will be no second phase of the deal with Hamas.

On Sunday, Channel 14 cited a “senior Israeli official” saying there will not be a second phase, and Israel will instead try to extend the ongoing first phase. Today, it does not source its claim that the security establishment is looking into extending the ongoing first phase by two weeks, but quotes the senior official as certain that the second phase will not happen.

The outlet — which is seen as having regular access to Netanyahu and his inner circle — says that a final decision has been made with the Americans that the ceasefire will end and that Israel will “open the gates of hell” on Gaza.

This messaging comes as the government tells other outlets that it will hold negotiations on the second phase.