Gaza Deal’s Second Phase to Begin With Truce Under Strain

An illuminated street at night in Gaza City on Jan. 7.Photographer: Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg

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By Dan Williams, Kate Sullivan, and Sherif Tarek

January 14, 2026 at 5:28 PM UTC

Updated on

January 14, 2026 at 11:30 PM UTC

The US announced the “launch” of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to advance a fragile truce that has been challenged by Hamas militants refusing to disarm.

The second phase will see the war-torn enclave “moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction,” US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff wrote in a post on X Wednesday that threatened Hamas with “serious consequences” if it doesn’t “comply fully” with its obligations.