ISRAEL’S genocidal war on Gaza has now exceeded a thousand days. It continues despite the ceasefire brokered by the US last October. Death and destruction have been on an epic scale. More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed, including over 21,000 children. Thousands remain missing. Gaza lies in ruins with 80 per cent of it devastated. Over 200 journalists have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli army. Israel has expanded its control of more territory in Gaza, ignoring UN warnings that “this increases deadly risks for Palestinians”.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is still catastrophic. Even as Israeli strikes continue in violation of the ceasefire, the world has moved on — its focus fixed instead on the US-Iran conflict and talks for a negotiated deal. Regional powers too have pulled away. Gaza has been relegated to the sidelines. This has left the peace plan in limbo and disarray.

Now Hamas is trying to change that and seize the attention of the international community. Last week, it announced it would transfer power in Gaza, where it was a de facto government for two decades, to a committee of technocrats. Called the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), this transitional body of Palestinian technocrats was established in January under President Donald Trump’s peace plan. It was meant to assume governance in the Strip and work under the supervision of the Board of Peace (BoP). This, along with a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops, Hamas’s disarmament and the Strip’s demilitarisation was to take place in the second phase of Trump’s 20-point plan. The first phase........

© Dawn