CAIRO/GAZA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- A newly-formed Palestinian technocratic committee to temporarily administer the post-war Gaza officially launched its work on Friday, the committee's head Ali Abdel Hamid Shaath told Egypt's state-run Al-Qahera News in an interview.
According to Shaath, the 15-member committee, with a priority on Gaza's "humanitarian file," held its first meeting in Cairo on Friday. The committee arrived on Thursday, delayed by a day due to Israeli obstruction, an Egyptian source told Xinhua.
The committee will work during a two-year transitional period to provide relief and urgent care for the most needy groups, especially women, children and the sick, said Shaath, a veteran engineer and former deputy planning minister in the Palestinian Authority.
He said the committee "will do its best to implement the provisions of the peace plan and alleviate the impact of the living crisis in the Gaza Strip."
Meanwhile, in remarks to a Palestinian radio station, Shaath said the committee plans to supply about 200,000 prefabricated housing units as an initial step. He also proposed a three-year plan to address war debris by burying part of it off Gaza's coast, adding that Gaza could be "better than before" within seven years through comprehensive reconstruction efforts.
The committee is not a military force but a professional body focused on reconstruction and administration, relying on expertise rather than arms, he stressed.
The committee was formed on Wednesday to temporarily administer the post-war Gaza, as the U.S. administration announced the launch of the second phase of its Gaza peace plan. On the same day, the Palestinian presidency announced its support for the committee.
On Thursday, Hamas reaffirmed its readiness to hand over the administration of Gaza to the committee and to facilitate its mission.
The ongoing fragile ceasefire, brokered by Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, and the U.S., took effect on Oct. 10, 2025. However, Gaza's health authorities said Friday that at least 463 people have been killed and 1,269 injured since the ceasefire began.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 71,455 Palestinians and wounded 171,347 others, while causing widespread destruction and worsening humanitarian conditions in the enclave, the authorities added. ■
