The ceasefire in Gaza enters the next phase. What does that mean?

0:00Today on State of the World, the ceasefire in Gaza enters the next phase. What does that mean?

0:10You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. It's Thursday, January 15th. I'm Greg Dixon. The second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is beginning. That's according to President Trump's special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff. He said this phase will establish a new Palestinian administration to run things in Gaza. And demilitarization and rebuilding in the territory will begin. In a few minutes, we'll hear what people living in Gaza think about this. First, to understand what phase two will mean in practice, A.

0:49Martinez spoke to NPR's Aya Batraoui in Dubai. It was really important for the White House to make this announcement now because the ceasefire is fragile. In the first three months since Trump pushed this through, there have been more than 450 Palestinians killed, according to Gaza's health ministry. Some were killed in Israeli airstrikes, but many are being shot almost daily by Israeli troops who still occupy more than half of the Gaza Strip. So while the ceasefire was stuck in its initial phase with no progress, we saw Hamas reasserting itself in that sliver of territory they still hold, and Israeli troops fortifying their hold of the territory that they hold in Gaza.

1:24And all of this is happening while people in Gaza are suffering without reconstruction or progress through another harsh winter. And that is why this next phase to the ceasefire is so important to its success. And the demilitarization of Gaza is at the heart of that second phase. But, you know, none of this is going to change overnight. Got it. Now, what you mentioned, demilitarization, what does the plan say about that? All right. Well, the wording of Trump's peace plan is vague on that. And so negotiations are key, but negotiations for that have not begun yet. But we did hear from senior White House officials yesterday who said there's a general concept of what they call terror infrastructure in Gaza being destroyed.

2:00And they say heavy weaponry like rockets would be put into a place where they're not being used to defend against Israel or to attack Israel. Now, the Israeli government wants all weapons out of the hands of any Palestinian militant groups and no tunnels to remain intact. Now, Hamas says it is open to negotiating weapons being stored until a new Palestinian government is in power. but they want Israel's troops withdrawing in tandem in coordination with them laying down their arms. But the White House and Israel say that withdrawal of Israeli troops to the buffer zones of Gaza are only going to happen after demilitarization.

2:31So still a lot of complex moving parts, very uncertain what would happen next. And who exactly would be actually overseeing disarmament and governing in Gaza in this coming phase? Okay, so the disarmament part A is likely going to be Egypt. They're a mediator between Israel and Hamas. They border the Gaza Strip and Israel. And, you know, they would want to be part of a broader international force deployed to Gaza to do this with militant groups agreeing to storing their weapons, not by force. But you need this international stabilization force to be assembled and deployed to Gaza. And that has not happened yet.

3:01Now, on this new Palestinian committee being formed, that is what will govern Gaza. It does not include Hamas. These are Palestinian factions that are meeting right now in Cairo, including Hamas, to finalize the names of these technocrats. It will be about 12 to 15 people in charge of running Gaza civilian affairs, think education, health, policing, things like that. And this committee is going to be led by a man named Ali Shath. He's a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Now, overseeing that committee is going to be President Trump, who will oversee something called the Board of Peace.

3:35Leaders from around the world have been asked to join this board, and they are expected to hold their first meeting next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos. But look, there's still one hostage body left that was taken in that Hamas attack October 7, 2023, that hasn't been found in Gaza. And Israel's been very unwilling to open Gaza's border with Egypt for more aid to enter through there or for people to leave and return until that body is handed back. But the real threat looming over this entire ceasefire are the protests happening in Iran and the possibility of U.S. and Israeli attacks there, which could start another war and take attention away from these next crucial steps.

4:09That was NPR's Aya Batrawi speaking to Aya Martinez. How are people in Gaza reacting to the announcement of the next phase of the peace plan? NPR's Anas Baba spoke with people in Gaza City. It's been nearly 100 days since President Trump declared an end to the war in Gaza. But survivors here are still burying their dead. And everywhere you look are the wounded. Most people are living in makeshift tents or bombed-out buildings. babies have died in cold and have been families crushed under collapsing walls. Abu Abdul Rahman says wind blew apart his tent five times this winter leaving him and his kids without any shelter.

4:57He says we thought we would be flooded with aid that the border crossing would be open but the situation is worse than we would have imagined. He says he hopes this next phase of the deal will see the withdrawal of Israeli troops, more aid, and the start of reconstruction. Similarly, Jamil Hamada says people in Gaza haven't seen enough results of the first phase of the ceasefire to have faith in the next.

5:27Hamada says Gaza's border with Egypt needs to open for people to come and go. Without that, it's all talk, he says. They don't have to leave the border without a loss. Ministers in Israel's far-right government are pressing to keep that crossing closed until Hamas finds the lost Israeli hostages' body in Gaza and returns there. Meanwhile, Israeli surveillance drones still buzz overhead, and people can hear the daily sound of explosions from eastern Gaza, which Israeli troops still occupy. Palestinians say soldiers are demolishing homes. Israel says it's destroying Hamas tunnels. Mohammed Abdel Salam says instead of withdrawing, Israeli troops have pushed the ceasefire line deeper into Gaza and are less than a mile from his home now in Gaza City.

6:17More than 450 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in the past three months of the ceasefire, according to Gaza's health ministry. Eight more people were killed Wednesday. One of them is a Hamas commander. Israel did not immediately comment on these latest attacks. Mohamed Ahmed says, people do not have jobs or money and nothing feels normal.

6:42Despite the ceasefire, he says, people feel they are still living the war. Anas Baba, NPR News, Gaza City.

6:57That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening. Thank you.