Joint body planned to run post-war Gaza

CAIRO, Dec 03 (AFP): Palestinian Hamas and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party have agreed to create a committee to jointly run post-war Gaza, negotiators from both sides said Tuesday.
Under the plan, which needs Abbas's approval, the committee would be composed of 10 to 15 non-partisan figures with authority on matters related to the economy, education, health, humanitarian aid and reconstruction, according to a draft of the proposal seen by AFP.
Following talks in Cairo brokered by Egypt, the two rival factions agreed the committee would administer the Palestinian side of the Rafah checkpoint on the border with Egypt-the territory's only crossing not shared with Israel.
Fatah's delegation, led by central party committee member Azzam al-Ahmad, would return on Tuesday to Ramallah to seek Abbas's final approval, negotiators from both sides told AFP.
The Hamas delegation was headed by politburo member Khalil al-Hayya. The initiative comes at a time of renewed diplomatic efforts to end the Gaza war, which was sparked by Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
These efforts, led by the United States together with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, come nearly a week after a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into force in Lebanon.
Hamas and Fatah have been bitter rivals since Hamas fighters ejected Fatah from the Gaza Strip after deadly clashes that followed Hamas's resounding victory in a 2006 election.
Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, while the secularist Fatah movement controls the Palestinian Authority and has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
As US President Joe Biden's administration prepares to hand over power in January to president-elect Donald Trump, Palestinians face intense US pressure to ensure Hamas will have no role in Gaza once the war ends.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, made Hamas's destruction in Gaza one of its main war objectives.
It also has repeatedly expressed strong opposition to the Palestinian Authority playing any role in the Gaza Strip after the war.
The Israel-Hamas war has resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has resulted in at least 44,466 deaths, also mostly civilians, according to data from Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry, which the UN considers reliable.
Trump warns of massive backlash
if Gaza hostages not freed
US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday warned Gaza Hamas of massive repercussions if hostages are not released by the time he takes office.
The threat comes after exhaustive diplomacy by outgoing President Joe Biden's administration that has so far failed to secure a deal that would both end Israel's war in Gaza and free hostages seized 14 months ago.
"If the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
"Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!"
Trump has vowed staunch support for Israel and to dispense with Biden's occasional criticism, but has also spoken of his desire to secure deals on the world stage.
Hamas staged the deadliest ever attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The assault resulted in 1,208 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Hamas seized 251 hostages during the attack, some of whom were already dead. Of those, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 35 the army says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 44,429 people in Gaza, according to figures from the territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.