DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, <\/p>\n
Steve Witkoff says Donald Trump\u2019s 20-point Gaza plan is \u201cmoving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction\u201d.<\/p>\n
United States President Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy to the Middle East has announced the launch of the second phase of a US-brokered plan to end Israel\u2019s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
Steve Witkoff said in a social media post on Wednesday that Trump\u2019s 20-point Gaza plan<\/a> is \u201cmoving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction\u201d.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n The second phase will establish a transitional administration to govern over the bombarded Palestinian territory and see the \u201cfull demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza\u201d, Witkoff said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe US expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage. Failure to do so will bring serious consequences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Israel has violated the US-brokered ceasefire more than 1,190 times<\/a> since it came into effect in October, according to the Gaza Government Media Office, killing more than 400 Palestinians and blocking critical humanitarian aid from entering the enclave.<\/p>\n Hamas, which has condemned Israel\u2019s repeated ceasefire violations, did not immediately comment on Witkoff\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n Reporting from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Wednesday, Al Jazeera\u2019s Tareq Abu Azzoum noted that the Palestinian group previously said it was ready to abandon day-to-day governance in Gaza as outlined under the Trump plan.<\/p>\n But the exact makeup and authority of the provisional body expected to govern in the enclave is not yet clear, Abu Azzoum said.<\/p>\n He added that serious questions also remain around the reconstruction of Gaza<\/a>, where more than 80 percent of all buildings have been damaged or destroyed in Israel\u2019s bombardment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe durability of the ceasefire itself remains a key variable. Any deterioration could delay or even ruin these plans,\u201d Abu Azzoum said.<\/p>\n Israel also did not immediately comment on Witkoff\u2019s announcement about the second phase of Trump\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n The 20-point proposal, initially put forward in September, also includes the establishment of a \u201cBoard of Peace\u201d chaired by Trump and the deployment of an \u201cinternational stabilisation force\u201d to oversee security in Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said former United Nations Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov would lead the board<\/a>, which will be tasked with overseeing the Palestinian technocratic government governing Gaza.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the UN and leading humanitarian groups working in Gaza continue to call on Israel to allow unimpeded deliveries of aid into the territory, including food, shelter supplies, and equipment needed to clear rubble and rebuild homes.<\/p>\n Legal experts have noted that the continued restrictions violate Israel\u2019s obligation, as the occupying power in the Gaza Strip, to provide for the needs of Palestinians in the territory under its control.<\/p>\n They also contravene the US-brokered ceasefire agreement, which ordered Israel to allow 600 aid trucks into the enclave daily.<\/p>\n