Alongside the ceasefire itself, President Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza called for a second phase: a political transition that would hand administrative responsibility to a body of nonpartisan Palestinian technocrats and eventually see Hamas disarm. A year after the ceasefire began, that part of the plan has made far less progress than the truce itself.
The transition plan rests on two pillars. One is the Board of Peace, an international oversight body Trump set up to guide reconstruction and governance in Gaza. The other is the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, known as NCAG, a group of nonpartisan Palestinian technocrats established in January 2026 that is meant to eventually take over day-to-day administration of the territory from Hamas.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced the start of this second phase on January 14, 2026. But by the following May, negotiations had stalled, largely over the question of Hamas's disarmament. Israel has said it will not move forward with further steps unless it sees progress on disarmament, while Hamas has said it will not discuss disarmament until Israel has fully implemented the ceasefire's first phase. Analysts tracking the process say the Board of Peace has made limited headway in breaking that impasse, even as it continues efforts to secure longer-term stability for the territory.
The standoff matters because the ceasefire itself, while reducing large-scale fighting compared to the war years, was always framed as only the first step. Without an agreed path on governance and disarmament, reconstruction funding, a lasting security arrangement and the handover of administration to NCAG are all difficult to finalize, leaving Gaza in an extended transitional period.
Mediators including Egypt and Qatar, who helped broker the original deal, are expected to continue shuttle diplomacy aimed at restarting phase two talks, with the sequencing dispute over disarmament and full implementation of phase one remaining the central sticking point.
What is the Board of Peace?
It is an international oversight body established as part of President Trump's Gaza peace plan to guide reconstruction and the political transition.
Why has the second phase of the peace plan stalled?
Israel and Hamas disagree on sequencing: Israel wants progress on Hamas's disarmament before further steps, while Hamas wants the ceasefire's first phase fully implemented before discussing disarmament.