GAZA CITY — Palestinians in Gaza have expressed skepticism about US President Donald Trump’s announcement that the second phase of the ceasefire agreement has begun, amid a continuing humanitarian crisis and ongoing Israeli attacks.
Israeli forces have continued deadly attacks across Gaza despite the US announcement about the launch of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Palestinians in Gaza City say they are not optimistic about the prospects of the recently announced second phase of the ceasefire agreement, with so many of the promises of the first yet to be fulfilled.
“It’s as if we’re still in the first phase,” said one man. “The crossings were supposed to open, prices were supposed to fall, and Israeli attacks were supposed to stop. Nothing has changed except we have moved from the south to the north of the Strip.”
The situation in Gaza “remains unchanged”, said one woman. “Let us seriously complete the first phase properly before announcing the transition to the second.”
At least 12 Palestinians have been killed and 18 injured in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, up to 09:00 GMT on Friday, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.
Two more bodies were recovered from the rubble of previous Israeli attacks, the ministry said in a statement published on Telegram.
A 14-year-old Palestinian boy has been killed by Israeli gunfire in the village of al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah, according to the Wafa news agency.
Israeli forces entered the village, triggering confrontations during which live ammunition was fired at residents. The boy, identified as Mohammed Saad Na’san, was shot in the back and chest.
Israeli forces also assaulted worshippers as they left al-Mughayyir West Mosque after Friday prayers, firing stun grenades and tear gas.
Meanwhile, the first meeting of the Gaza Administration Committee began Friday in Cairo, Egyptian media reported.
Qahera news TV said the initial session of the Palestinian National Committee tasked with managing the Gaza Strip had convened in the Egyptian capital, focusing on relief and postwar reconstruction plans.

Ali Shaath, the head of Gaza’s administration committee, said on Friday that a one-year budget has been provided by donor states to enable the committee to carry out its work, stressing the need to establish an international reconstruction fund.

“The committee is pushing to create a reconstruction and relief fund at the World Bank,” Shaath said, describing it as a key step for Gaza’s recovery, according to Qahera News TV.

Shaath added that the committee’s goal is “to give the Palestinian people hope that there is a future,” adding that its immediate objective is to bring “smiles on the faces of Gaza’s children, women, and men,” the channel reported.
The development came after US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff announced the start of phase two of the US Gaza plan and the outcomes of talks among Palestinian factions held in Cairo on Wednesday, the channel reported.
Phase two centers on a Peace Council framework that combines a Palestinian technocratic committee with an international stabilization force to manage Gaza’s transition.
The arrangement envisions a technocratic body handling civil administration and basic services as Israeli forces withdraw from the enclave, while an international force provides security and stability on a temporary basis.
The structure would reportedly operate under the supervision of a Peace Council led by US President Donald Trump backed by a resolution adopted by the UN Security Council.
Trump said on Thursday he was backing the newly appointed "Palestinian Technocratic Government" in Gaza.
"I am backing a newly appointed Palestinian Technocratic Government, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, supported by the Board's High Representative, to govern Gaza during its transition," Trump said on social media.
In another post, Trump said the "Board of Peace," of which Trump himself is the chair, was formed and its members would be announced shortly.
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of ceasefire violations in Gaza where since the start of the truce in October over 460 Palestinians, including more than 100 children, have been killed and 1,269 injured. — Agencies