Governance bodies for Gaza in place soon, followed by international force

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that a new governance structure for Gaza -- made up of an international board and a group of Palestinian

technocrats -- would be in place soon, followed by the deployment of foreign troops, as the U.S. hopes to cement a fragile ceasefire in Israel's war in the Palestinian enclave.



Rubio, speaking at a year-end news conference, said the status quo was not sustainable in Gaza, where Israel has continued to strike Hamas targets while the militant group has reasserted its control since the October ‍peace agreement brokered by President Donald Trump's administration.



"That's why we have a sense of urgency about bringing phase one to its full completion, which is the establishment of the Board of Peace, and the establishment of the Palestinian technocratic authority or organization that's going to be on the ground, and then the stabilization force comes closely

thereafter," Rubio said.



Rubio said progress had been made recently on identifying Palestinians to join the technocratic group, and said Washington was aiming to get the governance bodies in place "very soon," without offering a specific timeline.