The second phase of President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan has begun, US officials said on Wednesday, even though some conditions of the initial stage have not been fulfilled.
The announcement came as Palestinian factions were reported to have agreed on the members of a technocratic committee to run Gaza's day-to-day affairs. The members of a “board of peace” that will oversee the second phase, which Mr Trump is expected to chair, and nations that will contribute to an international stabilisation force to keep the peace in Gaza and train Palestinian security forces, have not yet been finalised.
The US special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, said the peace plan was moving on from the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which began on October 10, to "demilitarisation, technocratic governance and reconstruction".
The first phase of the peace plan "delivered historic humanitarian aid, maintained the ceasefire, returned all living hostages and the remains of 27 of the 28 deceased hostages", Mr Witkoff said.
However, the delivery of aid through Gaza's Israeli-controlled border crossings has fallen well short of the daily target of 600 lorryloads. In December, the territory received a daily average of 152 lorries, according to data from the UN2720 mechanism that monitors the entry of aid by humanitarian organisations.
Mr Witkoff warned Hamas of "serious consequences" if it failed to hand over the remains of the 28th deceased hostage, which the militant group said it was having trouble locating amid the rubble left behind by Israel's intense bombing during two years of war.
Although the ceasefire brought about a significant reduction in hostilities, Israel continued to carry out attacks that have killed more than 440 Palestinians, including two rounds of intense strikes after the deaths of three Israeli soldiers in attacks by militants.
In addition, "opening the Rafah crossing in both directions", as laid out in Mr Trump's peace plan, has not materialised. Some Palestinians have been allowed to leave but not to return home.
It is believed Gaza's technocratic committee will be chaired by Ali Shaath, a former deputy planning minister in the western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The other committee members will be in charge of a portfolios such as finance, water, local councils, the judiciary, security, health and agriculture.
Negotiations are set to begin on the disarmament of Hamas, steps to ensure Israel's full withdrawal from Gaza and the deradicalisation of the enclave, which has been under Hamas rule since 2007. The US-brokered truce agreement stipulates that Hamas leaders would be offered amnesty and safe passage out of Gaza into exile.
Progress on the creation of an international stabilisation force made up of US, Arab and European personnel to maintain security in Gaza remains to be seen.
Some states have viewed putting boots on the ground as a de facto occupation, or fear they may end up finding themselves in direct conflict with Hamas.
A US official said Mr Trump might announce members of the board of peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland next week. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is understood to have accepted a seat on the board. Israel has said Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, director general of the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi, will serve as director general of the board.
Former Middle East envoy and ex-British prime minister Tony Blair was initially proposed as a board member, but it is understood Arab countries objected to his inclusion, given his role in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. He will instead form part of the separate “executive board”, joining Mr Witkoff and Mr Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
