WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the formation of a Gaza "board of peace", a key phase two element of a US-backed plan to end the war in the Palestinian territory.
"It is my Great Honour to announce that THE BOARD OF PEACE has been formed", Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding that the members of the body will be announced "shortly".
"I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place", Trump said.
The board's creation comes shortly after the announcement of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee, charged with managing the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza.
The committee will work under the supervision of the board of peace, which Trump said on Thursday he will lead as its chair.
The plan also calls for the deployment of an International Stabilisation Force to help secure Gaza and train vetted Palestinian police units.
"The ball is now in the court of the mediators, the American guarantor and the international community to empower the committee", Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, said in a statement on Thursday.
The US-backed Gaza peace plan first came into force on October 10, facilitating the return of all the hostages held by Hamas and an end to the fighting between the Palestinian militant group and Israel in the besieged territory.
The plan's second phase is now underway, though clouded by ongoing allegations of aid shortages and violence.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has said Israeli forces have killed 451 people since the ceasefire ostensibly took effect.
For Palestinians, the central issue remains Israel's full military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip — a step included in the plan's framework but for which no detailed timetable has been announced.
Hamas, meanwhile, has refused to publicly commit to a full disarmament, a non-negotiable demand from Israel.
In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington expects Hamas to "comply fully with its obligations".
Hamas is preparing to hold internal elections to rebuild its leadership, which has been decimated by Israeli killings during the war in Gaza.
That vote is expected "in the first months of 2026", a Hamas leader said on Monday.
Trump said on Thursday he was backing the newly appointed "Palestinian Technocratic Government" in Gaza where Washington has announced the launch of a second phase in a ceasefire that went into effect in October but remains fragile.
"I am backing a newly appointed Palestinian Technocratic Government, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, supported by the Board's High Representative, to govern Gaza during its transition", Trump said on social media. — Agencies
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