The White House said it is moving into the second phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan, seeking to add new steps toward governance in the war-ravaged territory and a broader political transition. U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff announced the shift on Wednesday, describing the next phase as a move that would include establishing a transitional Palestinian governing committee and starting the “complicated tasks of disarming Hamas and reconstruction.” The announcement, however, did not provide many specifics about how the committee would be structured or how the plan’s later elements would proceed.
The ceasefire framework traces to Trump’s 20-point plan, which the AP reported was approved by the U.N. Security Council. If the plan succeeds, it calls for rebuilding a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision, normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab world, and a potential pathway toward Palestinian independence. If it stalls, the AP reported, the outcome could be prolonged instability in which Hamas retains control in parts of Gaza, Israel maintains enforcement of an open-ended occupation, and residents remain displaced and dependent on international aid.
The AP said the ceasefire that underpins the plan took effect Oct. 10, halting two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas. It also included the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel. The AP reported the ceasefire has largely held, though both sides accuse each other of ongoing violations, with Israeli fire killing more than 400 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
Palestinian militants have continued to hold the remains of the last hostage, an Israeli police officer killed in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war, the AP reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is in no rush to move forward until the remains are returned. The AP said Netanyahu played down Witkoff’s announcement, describing the creation of a new Palestinian committee as a “declarative move.”
Under Wednesday’s described plan for the next phase, the AP said the transitional committee would consist of independent Palestinian experts charged with running Gaza’s daily affairs under American supervision. The AP reported that Wednesday’s announcement did not name who would serve on the committee, but that other mediators in the ceasefire—Egypt, Turkey and Qatar—said it would be led by Ali Shaath. The AP said those mediators described Shaath as an engineer and former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP that “other names are expected in the next two days,” and that the committee’s focus would include attracting investment and improving the quality of life. The official also described the committee as “technocratic” and said, “They seem to be a group that wants to have peace.” The AP said the committee would report to a Board of Peace, described as a group of world leaders supervising the ceasefire and led by Trump.
The Board of Peace is expected to oversee the ceasefire, reconstruction, and what the AP described as an open-ended reform process involving the Palestinian Authority, with the goal of allowing the internationally recognized authority to return to govern Gaza at some point. The AP reported a U.S. official said invitations for the board had been extended but did not name expected members, adding, “It’s going to be a great list.” The AP said the challenge would be forming a board that can work with Israel, Hamas, ceasefire mediators, and international aid agencies, and reported that Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and U.N. Mideast envoy, is expected to serve as the board’s on-the-ground representative.
The plan also depends on security and disarmament mechanisms that have not yet taken shape. The AP reported that Trump’s plan calls for creating an International Stabilization Force to maintain security and train Palestinian police, but said the force has not been formed and that no deployment date has been announced. The AP said the U.S. official indicated there is “great excitement” over the force and said important announcements were expected in the coming weeks, while also reporting that the force’s command structure and authorities remain unknown.
The AP reported that Hamas said it would oppose attempts by the force to disarm it, and said contributing nations may be reluctant to risk clashes with the group. The AP also reported that Israel is hesitant to entrust its security needs to an international body. On reconstruction, the plan includes an economic development outline aimed to “rebuild and energize Gaza,” the AP reported, but said no such plan had been announced. It also reported that the U.N. estimates the process will cost $70 billion.
Disarmament is another key uncertainty. The AP said the ceasefire deal calls for Hamas to surrender its weapons under international monitors, with amnesty and an option to leave Gaza for militants who disarm. The AP reported that Hamas said it will not disarm until Israel ends its occupation of Palestinian territories, and that a senior Hamas official, Bassem Naim, told the AP last month the group is open to “freezing or storing” its weapons while a political process takes place, perhaps over many years. The AP reported that it remains unclear whether such a step would be sufficient for Israel, and that failure to disarm could renew fighting and block progress on the rest of the peace plan.
Finally, the plan requires changes in Israel’s military posture and the role of the Palestinian Authority. Under the ceasefire, the AP reported that Israel is to withdraw from all of Gaza except a small buffer zone along the border, and said Israel currently retains control of just over half of Gaza. The AP reported that further withdrawals would depend on “standards, milestones and timeframes linked to demilitarization,” negotiated by Israel, the U.S., the international force and other “guarantors,” and that there are no firm timelines and Israel may refuse further pullback. The AP also said the plan calls for overhauling the Palestinian Authority and creating conditions for a “credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood, while Israel rejects the creation of a Palestinian state and opposes any role for the authority in postwar Gaza, with the plan offering no clear benchmarks or timelines for reforms.