The Palestinian committee set to govern post-war Gaza held its first meeting in Cairo on Friday, Egyptian state-linked channel Al-Qahera News reported.
Formed on Wednesday as the second phase of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal came into effect, the committee is made up of 15 technocrats charged with administering the Palestinian territory after the Hamas-Israel war.
Ali Shaath, the Palestinian former government official chosen to administer Gaza, has an ambitious plan that includes pushing war debris into the Mediterranean Sea and rebuilding destroyed infrastructure within three years.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the formation of a Gaza “board of peace,” a key phase two element of a US-backed plan to end the war in the Palestinian territory.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that THE BOARD OF PEACE has been formed,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding that the members of the body will be announced “shortly.”
“I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place,” Trump said.
The board’s creation comes shortly after the announcement of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee, charged with managing the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza.
The committee will work under the supervision of the board of peace, which Trump said Thursday he will lead as its chair.
The plan also calls for the deployment of an International Stabilisation Force to help secure Gaza and train vetted Palestinian police units.
“The ball is now in the court of the mediators, the American guarantor and the international community to empower the committee,” Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, said in a statement on Thursday.
The US-backed Gaza peace plan first came into force on October 10, facilitating the return of all the hostages held by Hamas and an end to the fighting between the Palestinian militant group and Israel in the besieged territory.
The plan’s second phase is now underway, though clouded by ongoing allegations of aid shortages and violence.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry has said Israeli forces have killed 451 people since the ceasefire ostensibly took effect.