Netanyahu reiterates opposition to Palestinian state

The U.S. is preparing to announce a transition into the second phase of its Gaza 20-point peace plan in the coming weeks, according to a U.S. official, as the U.S. and its allies seek to maintain a fragile ceasefire brokered between Hamas and Israel in October.

The announcement would include the unveiling of a new governance structure in Gaza led by a Board of Peace, along with the launching of an International Stabilization Force to help secure the area.

President Donald Trump is expected to soon reveal the individuals and countries involved in those mechanisms as part of his announcement.

Ahead of the planned announcement, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz will head to the Middle East on Saturday. He is expected to travel to Jordan and Israel.

The 20-point Gaza peace plan was bolstered by a mandate secured by the United Nations Security Council in November, after member-countries voted in support of a resolution approving the plan.

Under the resolution, the ISF will work with Israel and Egypt, along with a newly trained and vetted Palestinian police force, to help secure border areas and ensure the process of permanently disarming non-state armed groups, including Hamas.

Waltz told the council that the ISF would be "tasked with securing the area, supporting the demilitarization of Gaza, dismantling the terrorist infrastructure, removing weapons, and ensuring the safety of Palestinian civilians."

The U.N. Security Council approved the creation of a transitional governance body called the Board of Peace that would supervise governance of a Palestinian technocratic, apolitical committee and oversee the reconstruction of Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Financing for reconstruction of Gaza following two years of war would come from a trust fund backed by the World Bank, according to the resolution.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly expected to meet President Trump in the U.S. before the end of the month to discuss the next phase of the Gaza peace plan.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan

Israeli forces struck “several weapons storage facilities” it alleged belonged to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

Two warnings were issued by Israel ahead of strikes in southern Lebanon, the IDF spokesperson to the Arab media said.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Israeli authorities announced Thursday that the remains returned to Israel from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday have been identified as that of a 42-year-old Thai national, Sudthisak Rinthalak.

Sudthisak was an agricultural worker in southern Israel who was killed on Oct. 7, 2023 during the Hamas-led terror attack. His body was taken to Gaza and held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Israeli officials have "informed Sudthisak's family that arrangements for his return for burial in his country would be made in coordination with the Thai Embassy in Israel," according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

A total of 39 Thai nationals were killed and 31 were taken captive on that day, according to Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Sudthisak is said to be the last Thai hostage to be returned.

The remains of one more hostage -- an Israeli national -- are believed to still be in Gaza.

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor and Jordana Miller

President Donald Trump acknowledged Israel's renewed airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday, though said he believed phase one of the current ceasefire would hold and that phase two would come to fruition.

"You know, they had a problem today, I understand, with a bomb that went off," Trump told reporters. "Hurt some people pretty badly, probably killed some people, they're telling me, it just happened."

The airstrikes came after four Israeli troops were injured in what the Israel Defense Forces said was a Hamas attack in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. At least five people were killed in the retaliatory Israeli strikes, the Kuwait field hospital in southern Gaza reported.

Nonetheless, Trump said that he believed the ceasefire -- which came into effect in October -- was "going along well."

Trump also expressed confidence in the implementation of phase two of the agreement. "Phase two is moving along, yeah. It's going to happen," he said.

-ABC News' Isabella Murray, Nicholas Kerr, Hannah Demissie, Michelle Stoddart, Selina Wang and Meghan Mistry