US says second phase of Gaza peace plan underway

The US is moving into the second phase of a Gaza peace plan, US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Wednesday.

"Today, on behalf of President Trump, we are announcing the launch of Phase Two of the President's 20-Point Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction," Witkoff wrote on social media.

The first phase of Trump's peace plan, which was unveiled in September 2025, called for a ceasefire that came into effect on October 10.

Since then, both sides have accused the other of breaking the deal. Israel has continued to restrict aid into the strip and conduct attacks. The Gazan health ministry says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire, and UNICEF announced this week that at least 100 of the victims were children.  Israel says Hamas militants continue to be a threat and that its airstrikes in Gaza are targeting the group.

Hamas has so far refused to disarm and has yet to release the remains of one last hostage after freeing all living captives when the ceasefire began. Witkoff said that the US expects Hamas to immediately return the final dead hostage or expect "serious consequences."

Despite the continued violence and unresolved issues, the US wants to move forward on the second phase of the peace plan.

On Wednesday, Witkoff said a "transitional technocratic Palestinian administration" was established to administer day-to-day affairs in Gaza, with no Hamas members allowed.

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On Wednesday, ceasefire mediators Egypt, Turkey and Qatar issued a joint statement naming Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister for transportation in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) as the head of the technocratic Palestinian administration.

"This is an important development to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza," the mediators said in a joint statement. The UN expects reconstruction of Gaza will cost more than $50 billion, and it is currently unclear where that funding will come from.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said the "declarative move to establish a technocratic committee" would not distract from efforts to return of the final Israeli hostage body, which remains his "top priority"

And still pending is the composition of a so-called "Board of Peace," a body made up of international leaders that will oversee the transitional government. Trump has said he will chair the board, which is to have 15 members.

Details on the composition of the board are expected in the coming days.

The board will also be responsible for establishing an international stabilization force (ISF) to maintain order in Gaza.

The plan also calls for the Israeli army to withdraw from most of the Gaza Strip and gradually hand over the areas it has held to the ISF.

It remains unclear how Hamas, which ⁠has regrouped since the October ceasefire, will be disarmed as required by the ceasefire plan.

The ceasefire was called two years after Hamas launched terror attacks on southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people, and abducting 251. Israel's military campaign in response to the attack has killed at least 71,400 people in Gaza, according to the Gazan health ministry.