Hamas Welcomes US Signal on Phase Two of Gaza Truce, Urges Full Compliance by “Israel”

By Staff, Agencies

A senior Hamas official has welcomed a US announcement confirming the start of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, describing it as a step toward ending “Israel’s” genocidal war on the besieged enclave.

Taher al-Nunu, an advisor to the head of Hamas’s political bureau, made the remarks on Thursday, a day after US special envoy to West Asia Steve Witkoff announced on X the launch of phase two of President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan. Witkoff said the new phase would move beyond the initial truce toward “demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction.”

Al-Nunu said Hamas welcomed the formation of a technocratic committee to administer Gaza, stressing the urgent need to reopen the Rafah crossings, allow humanitarian aid into the territory, and ensure the withdrawal of “Israeli” occupation forces. He accused “Israel” of attempting to evade its obligations under the ceasefire, adding that mediators are working to pressure the occupying regime into honoring the agreement.

A day earlier, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem described Witkoff’s announcement as a positive and important development. He reaffirmed Hamas’s readiness to hand over Gaza’s administration to an independent technocratic body and to facilitate its work during the transition period.

The proposed technocratic committee is expected to operate under the supervision of the so-called Board of Peace, reportedly to be headed by veteran Bulgarian and UN diplomat Nickolay Mladenov. Mediators to the Gaza ceasefire, including Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, welcomed the committee’s formation, saying it would assume responsibility for the day-to-day governance of Gaza.

In a joint statement, the mediators said the committee would be led by Ali Abdel Hamid Shaath, a former deputy minister of planning in the Palestinian Authority. They expressed hope that the move would help advance the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire, emphasizing that all parties must fully adhere to the agreement to secure lasting peace and enable Gaza’s reconstruction, where more than 80 percent of buildings have been damaged or destroyed by “Israeli” attacks.

The first phase of the ceasefire began on October 10, 2025, involving exchanges of “Israeli” captives for Palestinian abductees and the withdrawal of occupation forces to the so-called yellow line, the lethal ceasefire boundary in Gaza. Despite the agreement, “Israel” has continued bombing the territory and expanded its occupation, killing at least 449 Palestinians, many of them shot near the yellow line.

“Israel” launched its Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, but has failed to achieve its stated objectives, despite killing more than 71,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring over 171,000 others.