Envoy Witkoff announces start of second phase in US-brokered Gaza ceasefire plan

WASHINGTON (TNND) — The second phase of the U.S.-brokered 20-point ceasefire plan to end the war in Gaza was launched on Wednesday, according to President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff.

The ceasefire deal that Trump helped negotiate will move into disarming Hamas, rebuilding the war-ravaged territory and establishing the group of Palestinian experts that will administer daily affairs in Gaza under American supervision.

“Phase Two establishes a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), and begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel,” Witkoff wrote on X.

He added that the U.S. expects Hamas to “comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage” and “failure to do so will bring serious consequences.”

Mediators involved in the ceasefire deal – Egypt, Turkey and Qatar – released a joint statement saying the committee will be led by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority.

“This is an important development to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” the statement read.

Appointees to a technocratic committee are part of a broader plan to end Hamas’ 18-year rule of Gaza. The appointees will run day-to-day affairs in Gaza, under the oversight of a Trump-led “Board of Peace,” whose members have also not yet been named.

The first phase of the ceasefire began in October, with Israel Defense Forces withdrawing to the agreed-upon deployment lines and Palestinians returning to northern Gaza. So far, all but one of the 251 hostages have been released by Hamas.

The parents of the last remaining hostage, Ran Gvili, met in December with Rubio, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, ahead of a meeting with Trump, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“The family urged officials not to move forward with Phase 2 of the agreement before Ran, the last remaining hostage in Gaza, is returned home,” the group said on X. “The family was assured that bringing Ran home is what matters most to President Trump right now, and that the administration is doing everything possible, working closely with the mediators, to secure his return.”

Witkoff said phase one delivered ” historic humanitarian aid, maintained the ceasefire, returned all living hostages and the remains of twenty-seven of the twenty-eight deceased hostages.”

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Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.