Israel killed at least eight Palestinians across Gaza, just as the United States announced that the two sides had progressed to the second phase of a 20-point ceasefire deal with Hamas to end the conflict.
The Wafa news agency reported that the Israeli military bombed two houses belonging to the al-Hawli and the al-Jarou families in the central town of Deir el-Balah on Thursday evening, with health officials confirming a 16-year-old minor was among those killed.
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The Israeli military announced that one of the victims, Muhammad al-Hawli, was a commander in the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili confirmed that a “senior figure of the Qassam Brigades” had been killed and that the attack underscored Israel’s message that it would be defining phase two of the ceasefire “on its terms”.
Israel, he said, had set the terms of the next phase of the ceasefire, which will see the establishment of a Palestinian technocratic administration overseen by an international “Board of Peace”, with the option of “escalation” remaining very much “on the table”.
‘Despicable crime’
Hamas condemned the targeting of the al-Hawli home as a “despicable crime”, saying that it revealed the “contempt” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the October ceasefire, but did not confirm the death of one of its commanders.
At least 451 Palestinians, including more than 100 children, have been reported killed since the ceasefire took effect, with Israel ordering residents out of more than half of Gaza, where its troops remain behind an apparently mobile “yellow line“.
Three Israeli soldiers have been killed over the same period.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff announced in a post on X on Wednesday that the second phase of Trump’s 20-point plan to end the conflict had been launched, “moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction”.
The next phase would bring “the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel”, he said, with reference to Hamas, which has so far refused to publicly commit to full disarmament.
The plan also calls for the deployment of an International Stabilisation Force to help secure Gaza and train vetted Palestinian police units.
The 15-member technocratic committee, named the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, will manage day-to-day governance, but leaves unresolved broader political and security issues, including the question of Israel’s post-war withdrawal from the enclave.
Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, has been appointed to lead the committee, which is now meeting in Egypt to begin preparations for entering the territory, according to the AFP news agency report citing Egyptian state television.
In a recent interview, Shaath said the committee would rely on “brains rather than weapons” and would not coordinate with armed groups.
‘A step in the right direction’
Nevertheless, senior Hamas official Bassem Naim welcomed the establishment of the committee on Thursday, calling it “a step in the right direction” and signalling the armed group was ready to hand over administration of Gaza.
“This is crucial for consolidating the ceasefire, preventing a return to war, addressing the catastrophic humanitarian crisis and preparing for comprehensive reconstruction,” he said.
“The ball is now in the court of the mediators, the American guarantor and the international community to empower the committee,” he added.
The US-proposed Board of Peace is expected to be led on the ground by Bulgarian diplomat and politician Nickolay Mladenov.
The Reuters news agency reported that invitations were sent out on Wednesday to potential Board of Peace members personally selected by Trump.
‘Human remains’ in the rubble
The first phase of Trump’s plan began on October 10 and included a complete ceasefire, the exchange of Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners, and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
However, with Israel having maintained a chokehold on supplies entering the enclave, nearly all of the territory’s more than 2 million people are now struggling to survive winter in makeshift homes or damaged buildings.
As Al Jazeera’s al-Khalili put it, “the situation is going from bad to worse for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians who heard about the announcement of the second phase of the ceasefire, [with] nothing implemented on the ground”.
Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) said that conditions were “inhumane” and called for an acceleration of reconstruction work. “We can’t wait, we can’t procrastinate,” he said on Thursday after a visit to the territory.
Da Silva said the launch of phase two of the Gaza truce plan marked a “historical” opportunity to kick-start reconstruction efforts, which he said would require $52bn, according to an assessment conducted by the World Bank, the UN and the European Commission.
In phase two, Shaath said that the committee would focus on providing urgent relief for Gaza, announcing that he would bring in bulldozers to “push the rubble into the sea, and make new islands, new land”.
According to Shaath, Israel’s full-scale onslaught on Gaza has left about 60 million tonnes of rubble scattered across the enclave, “with unexploded ordnance in the rubble, dangerous waste, and unfortunately also human remains”.
Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 71,441 Palestinians since it erupted on October 7, 2023.
