The declaration marks a significant diplomatic step, but the path forward carries major unresolved questions: the full composition of the technocratic committee has not been named, Hamas has yet to commit to disarmament, the international security force required to supervise the deal has not been assembled, and the United Nations has estimated reconstruction will cost more than $50 billion.
WASHINGTON — The United States announced Wednesday that the Gaza ceasefire brokered under President Donald Trump is entering its second phase, which calls for disarming Hamas, beginning reconstruction of the war-ravaged territory and installing a technocratic committee to manage daily affairs under American supervision.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said in a post on the social platform X that the deal was advancing to its next phase following more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas. Witkoff described the establishment of a “technocratic government” in Gaza as a central element of the phase, to be supervised by an American-led oversight body.
Egypt, Turkey and Qatar — the three other mediators of the ceasefire — welcomed the announcement in a joint statement and identified Ali Shaath to head the new transitional Palestinian administration. Shaath is a Gaza native who served as deputy minister for transportation with the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. He is an engineer with expertise in economic development and reconstruction, according to his biography on the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute’s website.
The three countries called the committee’s establishment “an important development … aimed at consolidating stability and improving the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.”
Hamas said it supported the move. Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesperson, told Al-Jazeera that Witkoff’s announcement was an important and positive development and that the group was ready to hand over administration of Gaza to the independent technocratic committee. “Hamas is ready to engage in internal Palestinian approaches to discuss the issue of the resistance weapons,” Qassem said in statements shared on his Telegram channel.
Unresolved questions
Witkoff did not name who beyond Shaath would serve on the new transitional administration, and the White House offered no additional details. The composition of Trump’s “Board of Peace” — the oversight body tasked with supervising the committee — has also not been announced.
The United Nations has estimated that reconstruction will cost more than $50 billion, a process expected to take years. Little money has been pledged so far.
Deploying an international security force to supervise the deal — a requirement of the ceasefire agreement — also remains unresolved. Hamas’s statement that it was prepared to engage in internal Palestinian discussions on its weapons stopped short of a commitment to disarmament, which the second phase demands.
The final hostage
Witkoff warned Wednesday that Hamas must immediately return Ran Gvili, the last hostage it holds. Gvili was a 24-year-old Israeli police officer killed during Hamas militants’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war; Hamas holds his remains. Witkoff said “failure to do so will bring serious consequences.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Wednesday evening with Gvili’s parents, Tali and Itzik Gvili, and told them the return of their son’s remains was a top priority. Netanyahu’s office signaled that the committee’s formation would not draw focus away from that effort: “The declarative move to establish a technocratic committee will not affect efforts to return Ran to Israel’s grave,” the statement said.
Background
The ceasefire took effect in October under Trump’s 20-point plan and halted much of the fighting. Under the first phase of the three-phase deal, Hamas released all but one of the hostages it held in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel.
The technocratic committee is part of a broader plan to end Hamas’s 18-year rule of Gaza. It will be tasked with providing public services to more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, operating under the oversight of the Trump-led Board of Peace, whose members have not yet been named.