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Phase Two Begins
Washington announced the entry into the second phase of its plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip, moving from a ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance and reconstruction, with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff writing on X, "We are announcing the launch of Phase Two of Donald Trump’s 20-point plan."
“Hamas holds "crucial" talks in Cairo on Gaza ceasefire's 2nd phase: Egyptian source A Hamas delegation held "crucial" talks in Cairo on Thursday with Egyptian officials on arrangements for implementing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, an informed Egyptian security source told Xinhua”
The ceasefire entered into force on October 10, after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, and Egypt said on Wednesday that a consensus had been found among all parties on the composition of a 15-member Palestinian committee following talks in Cairo.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said he hoped the body would be deployed quickly in the Gaza Strip to manage daily life and essential services, while the former Palestinian deputy minister Ali Shaath was to head it.
The talks also addressed the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian territory, the reopening of the Rafah crossing with Egypt and the entry of aid stockpiled on the Egyptian side, Hamas said.
Israel said it would not begin discussions on the next step before the body of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage abducted on October 7 and held in Gaza, returned, and the Forum of Families of Hostages called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to honor his commitments and not move to this next phase.
Cairo Talks, Weapons Sticking
In Cairo, Palestinian factions and mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey discussed Gaza’s future after the war, with Hamas’s media adviser Taher al-Nunu telling AFP that the talks hosted in Cairo for four days saw "tangible progress."
Euronews and AFP reported that the factions agreed in principle to restricting the weapons to a Palestinian authority to be agreed upon, as part of seeking a mechanism to transition to the second phase, and that a source familiar with the negotiations said the proposal drafted by the factions includes confining weapons to the hands of a single Palestinian authority.
A Palestinian official familiar with the Cairo talks said mediators and Hamas reached a "conditional formula" related to weapons confinement in Gaza, while he predicted it would meet rejection by Israel and by the UN’s top Middle East envoy, Nikolai Mladenov.
France 24 reported that the restriction of Palestinian weapons remained the main reason for not reaching an agreement, and that the factions gathered in Cairo agreed in principle to restrict arms in Gaza to a single Palestinian authority body agreed upon.
France 24 also said the ball was in Israel’s and the mediators’ court, with Palestinian factions insisting on tying the weapons issue to Israel’s full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Humanitarian and Governance at Risk
Le Devoir reported that the second phase of the Trump plan calls for disarming Hamas, which the group refuses, and for the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, which Israel still controls about half, alongside the launch of reconstruction.
Euronews and AFP said Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip almost daily despite the declared ceasefire on October 10, and it and Hamas exchange accusations of violating the ceasefire.
Euronews and AFP added that at least 970 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began, while five Israeli soldiers were killed in the same period inside the Gaza Strip.
Le Monde described the human cost of the stalled transition by recounting that on April 9, 9-year-old Ritaj Rihan was hit by a bullet in the mouth while following her mathematics class under a tent serving as a classroom in Beit Lahya, and that at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City she was pronounced dead.
Le Monde also quoted Ritaj’s mother, Ola, saying, "But the Israelis do not want our children to be educated; they want to kill them," as it reported that the army said it could not determine whether there were shots toward that location on April 9.
