Palestinian committee holds first meeting in Cairo to govern Gaza under US supervision

The Palestinian committee designated to govern Gaza under U.S. supervision held its first meeting on Friday in Cairo, with its leader pledging to act swiftly to improve conditions in the territory.

Ali Shaath, an engineer and former Palestinian Authority official from Gaza, said reconstruction and recovery could take around three years, with immediate attention focused on urgent needs such as shelter. “The Palestinian people were looking forward to this committee, its establishment and its work to rescue them,” Shaath told Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News after the meeting.

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed support for the group’s efforts to lead Gaza following the two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas. Israeli forces withdrew from parts of Gaza after the ceasefire on October 10 and now remain behind the so-called Yellow Line, while thousands of displaced Palestinians have returned to the remnants of their homes.

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“I am backing a newly appointed Palestinian Technocratic Committee, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, supported by the Board’s High Representative, to govern Gaza during its transition,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday.

The committee is set to manage Gaza’s daily affairs under the oversight of a Trump-led “Board of Peace,” whose members have yet to be announced.

In the West Bank, friends and relatives gathered Friday to mourn the death of a 14-year-old Palestinian boy killed by Israeli forces.

The Palestinian Health Ministry, which confirmed his death, said Mohammad Na’san was the first child killed by the army in the occupied West Bank in 2026.

Residents said Israeli forces fired stun grenades and tear gas in an unprovoked attack. Israel’s military said in a statement that the incursion came after Palestinians had hurled rocks at Israelis and set tires aflame.

“There was gunfire directed at citizens and farmers, the most dangerous of which occurred during the storming of the village as people were leaving the mosques. The streets were crowded with the elderly, children, women, and elders, and they began firing relentlessly,” said Ameen Abu Aliya, head of the Al-Mughayyir village council.

The death was the latest episode of violence to hit al-Mughayyir, a village east of Ramallah that has become a flashpoint in the West Bank. Much of the community’s agricultural land falls under Israeli military control.

Earlier this year, settlers and Israeli military bulldozers destroyed olive groves in the area, saying they were searching for Palestinian gunmen. A children’s park in al-Mughayyir was also demolished.

In 2025, 240 Palestinians — including 55 children — were killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank, while Palestinians killed 17 Israelis — including one child — in the region, according to the United Nations.

Meanwhile, two children were killed Friday in Gaza, a 7-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy. They were killed in Beith Lahiya, near the Yellow Line, and their bodies taken to al-Shifa Hospital, the hospital said. No further details were immediately available.

With inputs from agencies