Trump: Phase two of Gaza plan is ‘going to happen pretty soon’

US President Donald Trump says phase two of his Gaza peace plan is “going to happen pretty soon.”

Asked by reporters in the Oval Office when phase two will commence, Trump avoids answering directly saying the process is “going along well.”

“They had a problem today with a bomb that went off — hurt some people pretty badly, probably killed some people,” Trump says, referring to the attack earlier today on Israeli troops in Gaza. “But it’s going very well. We have peace in the Middle East. People don’t realize it.”

“Phase two is moving along, It’s going to happen pretty soon,” he adds.

Already on October 14, though, Trump had declared that phase two had already begun.

But Israel and Hamas have only signed on to phase one of his peace plan, which encapsulated the initial ceasefire, the IDF pullback in Gaza, the swap of hostages and Palestinian security prisoners, and humanitarian aid provisions.

No agreement has actually been reached regarding phase two, which pertains to the postwar management of Gaza. While the US managed to get a resolution through the UN Security Council last month to establish some of the necessary mechanisms for that to happen, the process has stalled amid questions regarding whether Hamas will disarm, who will join the so-called International Stabilization Force meant to secure Gaza, and where in the Strip the first reconstruction projects will commence.