US President Donald Trump is preparing to announce before Christmas that the Gaza peace process will advance into its second phase, unveiling a new governance structure for the enclave, Axios reported on Thursday.
The move, according to two US officials and a Western source directly involved, comes as Washington seeks to consolidate what it views as the most significant foreign policy achievement of Trump’s second term.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet Trump in the US before month’s end to discuss the next stage. In a phone call Monday, Trump told Netanyahu he expects him to be a “better partner” on Gaza, the Axios report said.
The second phase envisions Israel withdrawing further from Gaza, the deployment of an International Stabilization Force (ISF), and the establishment of a new governing structure led by the Trump-chaired Board of Peace. The UN Security Council has authorized both the ISF and the board. US officials say preparations are nearly complete, with rollout expected within weeks.
“All of the different elements are pretty well-advanced. It’s all moving ahead, and the aim is to announce it before people break for the holidays,” a Western source told Axios.
The Board of Peace will include around 10 leaders from Arab and Western nations. Beneath it, an executive board will feature former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Trump advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, and senior officials from participating countries. A Palestinian Arab technocratic government, composed of 12-15 professionals unaffiliated with Hamas or Fatah, will operate under this board. Roughly half of the initial 25 candidates have been ruled out, with some expected to return to Gaza to serve.
Consensus on the composition of this government is being finalized with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and regional states, according to the report. Meanwhile, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, and Turkey have expressed willingness to contribute troops to the ISF, which will deploy in areas currently under Israeli military control.
Behind the scenes, the US, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey are negotiating with Hamas on a plan for the terrorist group to step back from governing Gaza and begin disarmament, the report stated. Heavy weapons would be surrendered first, followed by light arms. Egypt and Qatar are optimistic, though Netanyahu remains skeptical. “Bibi is skeptical but committed to give it a chance to work,” a source told Axios.
“The equation will be IDF out of Gaza but Hamas out of power,” the Western source explained. “The big question is will Hamas agree to disarm and allow the new government to take power and govern the place. They can’t be in government directly or indirectly through their weapons. The moment of truth will come in the next few weeks.”
A White House official confirmed that announcements regarding the Board of Peace and further implementation of the Gaza plan will be made soon. “The Trump administration and our partners are working diligently to implement President Trump’s historic 20-point plan that will deliver security and prosperity to Gazans and the broader region,” the official said.
The Axios report comes a day after Trump expressed confidence that the next phase of his plan for the Gaza Strip will be implemented “pretty soon”.
Meanwhile, Channel 12 News’ political analyst Amit Segal warned that Trump’s Gaza peace plan is collapsing, writing in a post on social media that the initiative is “on life support.”
Segal said that despite Trump’s insistence that the plan’s second phase is “going to happen pretty soon,” the reality on the ground suggests otherwise. According to Segal, Hamas refuses to disarm, and no country other than Israel is willing to enter the Gaza Strip to confront the terror group - making the resumption of fighting “almost inevitable.”
He argued that Trump faces a political dilemma after repeatedly presenting his Gaza plan as historic and transformative. “How does he walk that all back?” Segal wrote.
Segal added that Israel should give the situation “a few months,” allowing what he described as the president’s “fantasies” to fade while Jerusalem demonstrates that no alternative remains to renewed IDF action against Hamas.