Gaza ceasefire enters second phase focused on reconstruction
WASHINGTON
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy announced Wednesday the start of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan, saying the focus will shift to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction.
“Phase Two establishes a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), and begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel,” Steve Witkoff said in a statement on the U.S. social media platform X.
He said the U.S. expects Hamas to fully comply with its obligations under the agreement, including “the immediate return of the final deceased hostage.”
“Failure to do so will bring serious consequences,” Witkoff added.
Witkoff also thanked Türkiye, Egypt and Qatar “for their indispensable mediation efforts that made all progress to date possible.”
Egypt also said that all the members of a 15-person Palestinian technocratic committee meant to administer post-war Gaza had been agreed upon by all Palestinian factions, who swiftly offered their support.
Under a 20-point Gaza truce plan brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump in October, the Palestinian territory would be governed by the committee operating under the supervision of a so-called "Board of Peace", to be chaired by Trump himself.
Hamas officials said earlier in the day that the group had opened talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo on the committee, which forms part of Trump's truce plan for Gaza.
"We hope that following this agreement, the committee will be announced soon... and will then be deployed to the Gaza Strip to manage daily life and essential services," Abdelatty said.
The majority of the Palestinian factions offered their support to the committee after Abdelatty's announcement.
In a statement, the factions including Hamas said they had agreed "to support the mediators' efforts in forming the Palestinian National Transitional Committee to administer the Gaza Strip, while providing the appropriate environment" for it to begin its work.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian presidency also announced its support in official media, with a source from the office telling AFP the statement "reflects the position of the Fatah movement because President (Mahmud) Abbas is also the head of Fatah".
The Cairo meeting aimed to address the formation of the committee and its operational mechanisms, a senior Hamas official had previously told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Potential committee heads
Separately, the Hamas delegation was also to hold talks in Cairo with leaders of other Palestinian factions on "political, national and field developments" and the state of the Gaza ceasefire, the official added.
Hamas has repeatedly said it does not seek a role in any future governing authority in the Palestinian territory, and would limit its role to monitoring governance to ensure stability and facilitate reconstruction.
Talks with Egyptian mediators were also focused on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the reopening of the Rafah crossing, the entry of aid currently stockpiled on the Egyptian side of the border, and preparations for launching the second phase of the ceasefire plan, the official said.
Abdelatty did not name any of the agreed-upon committee members.
But two names circulating as potential heads were Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister of planning in the Palestinian Authority, and Majed Abu Ramadan, the current minister of health, the second official said.
The Trump proposed Board of Peace is expected to be led on the ground by Bulgarian diplomat and politician Nickolay Mladenov, who has recently held talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Mladenov previously served as the United Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process from early 2015 until the end of 2020.
Media reports say Trump is expected to announce the members of the Board of Peace in the coming days, with the body set to include around 15 world leaders.