The White House on Friday announced the members of the Gaza Strip's proposed "Board of Peace" and named the head of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) as part of President Donald Trump's 20-point plan to end the war in the territory. In a statement, the White House said the NCAG will be led by Dr. Ali Sha'ath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority, describing him as a "widely respected technocratic leader" tasked with restoring public services, rebuilding civil institutions, stabilizing daily life in Gaza, and laying the groundwork for long-term governance. The statement also detailed the formation of an Executive Board to support governance and service delivery. Members include Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan; Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff; Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner; former British prime minister Tony Blair; United Arab Emirates Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al-Hashimy; veteran Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi; Egypt's intelligence chief Hassan Rashad; former U.N. envoy and UAE-based Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov; Cypriot-Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay; and Dutch politician Sigrid Kaag. The Executive Board guiding the Board of Peace will be chaired by Trump. Its members include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, billionaire Marc Rowan, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, and U.S. political adviser Robert Gabriel. Mladenov will serve as High Representative for Gaza, acting as a liaison between the Board of Peace and the NCAG, while Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers will command the International Stabilization Force. The White House also appointed Aryeh Lightstone and Josh Gruenbaum as senior advisers to oversee day-to-day strategy and operations. Additional Executive Board and Gaza governance appointments will be announced in the coming weeks, according to the statement. The announcement follows remarks by Witkoff earlier this week confirming the launch of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan, with a focus on demilitarization, technocratic governance and reconstruction. The ceasefire took effect in October, halting hostilities, enabling a partial Israeli withdrawal, facilitating the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian detainees, and allowing limited humanitarian aid into Gaza. The second phase calls for a full Israeli withdrawal, the disarmament of Hamas, deployment of an International Stabilization Force, and the establishment of a temporary Palestinian technocratic administration. More than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 171,000 injured since the war began in October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities. Since the truce, nearly 450 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,200 wounded, the Gaza Health Ministry said. — Agencies
