Important Takeaways:

• The U.S.-born Ron Dermer is a Cabinet minister who’s widely seen as Netanyahu’s closest adviser.
• He previously served as Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. and is a former Republican activist with strong ties to the Trump White House.
• Dermer currently serves as Israel’s strategic affairs minister, where he has been a key player in relations with the U.S. as well as Gulf Arab countries.
• Talks have not yet started on the second stage, which is meant to include an end to the war, return of all hostages and Israeli pullout from Gaza.
• Palestinians and Arab countries have universally rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to remove the Palestinian population from Gaza and take over the territory.
• In a phone call with U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on Wednesday, Lebanon’s president insisted that Israeli forces withdraw from five strategic hilltops inside Lebanon.
• Israel is keeping its forces on Lebanese soil even after a deadline spelled out in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement.

Read the original article by clicking here.