US launches Gaza plan’s 2nd phase

The United States said on Wednesday it is launching the second phase of its plan to end the Gaza war, even as key elements of the first phase - including a complete ceasefire between Israel and Hamas - remain unfulfilled.

The first phase has been shaken by issues including Israeli airstrikes that have killed hundreds in Gaza, the failure to retrieve the remains of one last Israeli hostage, and Israeli delays in reopening Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt.

By pressing on with phase two, the United States and its mediator partners will need to tackle the even more vexing challenges of disarming Palestinian group Hamas, which has refused to give up its arms, and deploying an international peacekeeping force.

Announcing the second phase in a social media post, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said it “establishes a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza” and would begin the process of disarmament and reconstruction.

The Palestinian body will have 15 members and will be led by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority who had been in charge of developing industrial zones, according to a joint statement by mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. 

A senior Hamas official yesterday welcomed the formation of the technocratic committee, saying it would help consolidate the ceasefire and prevent a return to fighting.

Israel and Hamas signed off in October on Trump’s plan, which says that the Palestinian technocratic body will be overseen by the international “Board of Peace” that is meant to govern Gaza for a transitional period.