Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cast the U.S. announcement that the fragile ceasefire in Gaza would advance to its second phase as largely symbolic, raising questions about how its more challenging elements will be carried out.
Meanwhile, two Israeli airstrikes killed seven people in Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, local health authorities said. A senior figure in the armed wing of Hamas was among those killed, a Hamas source said.
Neither the Israeli military nor Hamas immediately responded to requests for comment on the incident. Hamas condemned the strikes on the Al-Holy family, in a statement that did not mention Mohammed or his role in the group. It accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal in place since October, and of attempting to reignite the conflict.
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Questions also include the timing of deployment of international forces and the reopening of Gaza's southern Rafah border crossing, as well as concrete details about disarming Hamas and rebuilding Gaza.
In an interview on Wednesday with the West Bank-based Radio Basma, Ali Shaath, the engineer and former Palestinian Authority official slated to head the committee, said he anticipated reconstruction and recovery to take roughly three years. He said it would start with immediate needs, such as shelter.
"If I bring bulldozers, and push the rubble into the sea, and make new islands [in the sea], new land, it is a win for Gaza and [we] get rid of the rubble," Shaath, a Gaza native, said.
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