This live page will close soon. Here are the main developments of the day:
- The first meeting of a Palestinian technocratic committee tasked with managing the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza has begun in Cairo, according to Egyptian media.
- At least 12 Palestinians have been killed and 18 injured in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, up to 09:00 GMT on Friday, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.
- Germany is hoping for a seat on the so-called “board of peace” for Gaza, according to the country’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.
- The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has accused Israeli forces of opening fire with small-calibre weapons at one of its positions in the southern Lebanese town of Kfarchouba.
- The European Union (EU) has urged Israel to discontinue its E1 settlement project, which aims to link thousands of illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem to the expanding Maale Adumim settlement bloc in the occupied West Bank.
Bulgaria’s Nickolay Mladenov named as ‘High Representative for Gaza’
In addition to founding Executive Board members, the White House has announced members of a Gaza Executive Board – tasked with supporting “effective governance and the delivery of best-in-class services that advance peace, stability, and prosperity for the people of Gaza”.
The White House statement lists the Gaza Executive Board Members as:
• Steve Witkoff, US special envoy to the Middle East
• Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law
• Hakan Fidan, Turkiye’s foreign minister
• Ali Al-Thawadi, senior Qatari diplomat
• Hassan Rashad, Egyptian intelligence chief
• Tony Blair, ex-British prime minister
• Marc Rowan, US businessman
• Reem Al-Hashimy, UAE minister of state for international cooperation
• Nickolay Mladenov, Bulgaria’s former foreign minister
• Yakir Gabay, Israeli-Cypriot businessman
• Sigrid Kaag, ex-UN humanitarian coordinator
Mladenov, Bulgaria’s former foreign minister, is also named as High Representative for Gaza, a position which will “act as the on-the-ground link between the Board of Peace and the NCAG [National Committee for the Administration of Gaza]”, according to the statement.
“Additional Executive Board and Gaza Executive Board members will be announced over the coming weeks,” said the White House.
Gaza ceasefire not a success, principle of aid continue to be ignored
Political analyst Xavier Abu Eid says the reality on the ground in Gaza makes it impossible to frame the ceasefire as a political or diplomatic achievement while Palestinians continue to be killed and to die from preventable causes in Gaza.
“I’m certain that no one would dare to claim that there is any sort of diplomatic success if 400 people have been killed in Israel since a ceasefire deal was achieved,” Eid, a former adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization’s negotiation team, told Al Jazeera, adding that “clearly, phase one has not been implemented”.
“We have people being killed every day in Gaza, some people dying of a cold, and yet, some people are still claiming that there’s a sort of diplomatic success.”
Moreover, Eid said core principles set out by international legal bodies are being ignored, particularly regarding unconditional humanitarian access.
“The International Court of Justice had already established … for example, that humanitarian aid should not be conditioned … and Israel continues to condition it,” he added.