by Jacob Magid, Noam Lehmann and Lazar Berman at The Times of Israel
Last hostage’s mom says move jeopardizes efforts to return her son, as Witkoff warns Hamas on matter, Netanyahu says ‘declarative’ move to stage 2 won’t harm repatriation efforts
US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday announced the launch of phase two of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the war in Gaza, including the establishment of a new technocratic Palestinian administration for the Strip.
Witkoff said in a statement that this new phase will consist of “moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance and reconstruction.”
“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 said.
“The US expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage. Failure to do so will bring serious consequences,” the US envoy added.
“Importantly, phase one delivered historic humanitarian aid, maintained the ceasefire, returned all living hostages and the remains of 27 of the 28 deceased hostages,” Witkoff said, thanking fellow mediators Egypt, Turkey and Qatar “for their indispensable mediation efforts that made all progress to date possible.”…
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