CAIRO: The Palestinian committee that will govern postwar Gaza held its first meeting in Cairo on Friday.

Formed on Wednesday as the second phase of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal came into effect, the committee is made up of 15 technocrats charged with administering everyday life in the Palestinian territory.

The meeting followed US President Donald Trump’s declaration of the formation of a Gaza “board of peace,” a key phase two element of the US-backed plan to end the war.

Members of the board will be announced shortly, Trump said, and he will chair it. “I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place,” he said.

The peace plan also calls for the deployment of an International Stabilisation Force to help secure Gaza and train vetted Palestinian police units.

“The ball is now in the court of the mediators, the American guarantor and the international community to empower the committee," senior Hamas leader Bassem Naim said.

The US-backed Gaza peace plan first came into force on October 10, facilitating the return of all the hostages held by Hamas and an end to the fighting between the Palestinian militant group and Israel in the besieged territory.

The plan's second phase is now underway, though clouded by ongoing allegations of aid shortages and violence. Israeli forces have killed 451 Palestinians since the ceasefire began.