Trump determined to advance Gaza ceasefire deal as Israeli forces dig in

President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan is set to enter a new phase within weeks, but crucial pieces of the agreement remain undefined as Israel tightens its military grip on the battered enclave.

Now, amid international concern that the two-month-old ceasefire is at risk of collapse, Trump is determined to move to the far more complicated second phase of the agreement, which includes Hamas’ disarmament, the beginning of reconstruction, and the establishment of post-war governance. At the center of the new plan for administering Gaza is the creation of a “Board of Peace” to be led by Trump and other world leaders.

“It’ll be one of the most legendary boards ever. Everybody wants to be on it,” Trump said at the White House on Wednesday.

Despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public embrace of the deal in September, significant gaps remain between the US and Israel. The US is pushing to move quickly into the next phase, but Israel is conditioning major steps on the return of the final deceased hostage and has been resisting US efforts to resolve a standoff with a pocket of isolated Hamas militants in the Israeli-occupied parts of southern Gaza.