Palestine factions refuse foreign guardianship on Gaza
Hamas and allied Palestinian factions have reiterated that any decision on the future governance of Gaza is “an internal Palestinian matter” as the ceasefire in the territory takes effect.
In a joint statement on Friday, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine joined Hamas in lauding the steadfastness of Palestinians, which they said foiled Israel’s plans for mass forced displacement in Gaza.
“We renew our rejection to any foreign guardianship, and we stress that the nature of the administration of the Gaza Strip and its institutions are an internal Palestinian matter to be determined by the national component of our people directly,” the statement said.
US CENTCOM chief says no troops to be deployed to Gaza
The head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) says no US troops will be deployed to Gaza as 200 soldiers are set to arrive in Israel to monitor the ceasefire.
In a statement on X, Admiral Brad Cooper said he just returned from Gaza to understand how to establish a “CENTCOM-led Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC)” to connect activities to support “post-conflict stabilisation”.
“This great effort will be achieved with no US boots on the ground in Gaza,” Cooper wrote.
Witkoff, Kushner, CENTCOM chief visit Gaza: Israeli army
Israeli Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir has conducted a tour of the Gaza Strip with Israeli officials and US envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and US CENTCOM commander, Brad Cooper, the Israeli army says.
The military statement said the tour observed the military’s preparations for receiving the captives at the Re’im army base.
Ceasefire holds but fundamental issues unresolved: Ex-CIA official
Glenn Carle, a former CIA official, argues Trump’s upcoming trip to Israel and Egypt aims to both highlight his role in the Gaza ceasefire while also continuing to apply pressure on the Israeli government.
“The trip itself doesn’t necessarily constitute pressure, but the political context in the United States allows Trump to pressure Netanyahu, and Trump wants the ceasefire; he wants to stop the fighting for his own purposes,” Carle told Al Jazeera.
Noting that Trump has been “very strong in aligning US support for Israel”, Carle said the Republican leader “did turn the screws a bit on Netanyahu” when it comes to the Gaza plan.
Carle also said that from Trump’s perspective, the main focus is “a narrow one”, limited to the ceasefire and the expected release of captives and prisoners.
“Beyond that, the fundamental issues – Hamas’s hostility to Israel and the Israeli right’s, therefore the Israeli government’s hostility to Hamas and a separate state for Palestine – remain unchanged,” he said. “Those things have been talked about in the agreement but pushed off, and I don’t anticipate fundamental progress on those things.”
As we’ve been reporting, since Israel’s war on Gaza began, the US government has provided its top ally with billions of dollars in military aid as well as unwavering diplomatic support. Observers say Israel would not have been able to maintain its deadly bombardment and genocide in Gaza without US assistance.
