Reuters
Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in the northern Gaza Strip, on September 11, 2024.
Representatives from the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) agreed in Cairo on Wednesday to form a "temporary, non-political committee" to manage services concerning the Gaza Strip, a well-informed Egyptian source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Following a meeting held under Egyptian sponsorship, the two Palestinian factions agreed that "the committee's role will be limited to managing the Rafah border crossing and providing vital necessities for the people of Gaza, including medicines, education, health care, and food," said the source.
The proposed committee is expected to include 10 to 15 members belonging to neither faction, with their nomination pending further discussion, the source added.
He described the committee as the "best and most suitable" solution to the issue of governing Gaza after the war, amid Israeli and US insistence on ending Hamas control of the enclave.
Delegates from both factions arrived in Cairo on Tuesday to negotiate the administration of Gaza. The talks aim to bridge differences between the two sides regarding the governance of Gaza and the Rafah crossing between the coastal enclave and Egypt.
Gaza has witnessed a one-year-long conflict between Israel and Hamas, triggered by a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed about 1,200 people.
In response, Israel's military operations against Hamas in Gaza have led to 42,010 Palestinian deaths and 97,720 injuries, according to the latest figures released by health authorities in Gaza on Wednesday.
