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President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, announced on Wednesday the launch of phase two of the Gaza plan, which includes the establishment of a technocratic Palestinian administration in the enclave.
Witkoff said the U.S. expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage. He warned that failure to meet these obligations would carry “serious consequences.”
The phase two move follows the first stage of the plan, which included a ceasefire and partial hostage release, though it faced delays and continued tensions in the region.
Under the plan, a 14-member Palestinian committee will temporarily govern Gaza. The body will be led by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority, and will include figures from the private sector, NGOs and security officials. Hamas will not be represented.
The committee was approved by former U.N. envoy Nickolay Mladenov, who is expected to represent the international “Board of Peace” overseeing the transitional governance.
Egyptian officials confirmed the committee, emphasising that Gaza should remain linked with the West Bank under a single legal and institutional framework.
The first phase of the plan, which included a ceasefire and hostage release agreement, faced setbacks including Israeli airstrikes, Hamas’s refusal to disarm, and delays in reopening the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Despite these issues, Trump’s envoy is pressing ahead with phase two.
Hamas and Fatah leaders are meeting in Cairo to discuss the next steps, including the group’s disarmament. Members of the new technocratic committee were scheduled to meet Mladenov in Cairo on Wednesday, with Hamas and Fatah reportedly endorsing the selection.
The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank expressed support for the plan, saying Gaza institutions should remain aligned with the West Bank and uphold “one system, one law, and one legitimate weapon.”
Officials also said the plan will include the deployment of international peacekeeping forces, though details remain under negotiation.
And, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to make a visit to Moscow on 21–22 January, TASS said on Thursday (15 January), referencing the Palestinian embassy.
Mexico and South Africa meet in Thursday’s World Cup opener in Mexico City, with both teams approaching the match from very different positions but facing their own pressures.
The Pakistani city of Karachi is struggling under severe heat and humidity as the country enters a prolonged heatwave period. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned of above-normal temperatures across much of the country between 7 and 12 June.
Ukraine's military said it struck a Russian "shadow fleet" tanker in the Black Sea as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt Moscow's energy and logistics networks. The move underscores Kyiv's focus on targeting maritime assets it says are used to bypass sanctions on Russian oil exports.
U.S. forces say they have completed strikes on Iranian military sites near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with missile attacks on an American base in Jordan, marking a sharp escalation in tensions between the two sides.
SpaceX has made history with the largest initial public offering ever in the United States, pricing its shares at $135 each and achieving a market valuation of $1.77 trillion.
An adviser to the European Union’s top court said on Thursday that the European Commission’s appeal against a 2024 ruling, which required disclosure of information on COVID-19 vaccine contracts, should be dismissed.
Migrants in the U.S. who were prevented from being sent back to their home country due to the risk of persecution are set to be deported to the war-torn Central African Republic.
Finance ministers across East Africa unveiled their 2026/27 budgets on Thursday, as investors assessed how governments plan to protect their economies from shocks linked to the ongoing Iran war while managing rising debt levels.
More than a third of Belgium’s population now has a foreign background, according to new figures released by the national statistics office, Statbel. The data show that around 4.34 million of the country’s nearly 11.7 million residents do not have an entirely Belgian background.
SpaceX has made history with the largest initial public offering ever in the United States, pricing its shares at $135 each and achieving a market valuation of $1.77 trillion.
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