On January 14th 2026 the US administration announced the launch of phase two of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, including the formation of a technocratic administration body: the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). Days later, announcements were made concerning additional related bodies, including the ‘Board of Peace’.
In the nine days between January 14th and January 22nd inclusive, the BBC News website published eight articles relating to that story, including three on the same topic on the same day.
“US launches phase two of Gaza peace plan with new technocratic government” David Gritten and Jon Donnison, 14/1/26
“Pitfalls loom as Trump’s Gaza peace plan enters second phase” Jon Donnison, 15/1/26
“Who is on Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ overseeing Gaza’s reconstruction?” Claire Keenan, 17/1/26
“Big names on Trump’s peace panel face huge challenges in Gaza” John Sudworth, 17/1/26
“Blair and Rubio among names on senior executive of Gaza ‘Board of Peace’” Maia Davies, 17/1/26
“Israel pushes back on Trump’s picks for executives on Gaza ‘Board of Peace’” Rachel Muller-Heyndyk, 18/1/26
“Seven more countries agree to join Trump’s Board of Peace” David Gritten and Rachel Hagan, 21/1/26
“US unveils plans for ‘New Gaza’ with skyscrapers” David Gritten, 22/1/26
While over half of the BBC’s reporting during that nine-day period related to the make-up of the UN approved ‘Board of Peace’ and its executive committee operational arm, BBC audiences were provided with very little information about the composition of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). For example:
“They also revealed that the 15-member committee would be headed by Ali Shaath, a former deputy planning minister in the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs parts of the occupied West Bank not under Israeli control.” [David Gritten and Jon Donnison, 14/1/26]
“As the lowest level, the strip will be run by a new government of technocrats made up of figures from civil society within Gaza.
The names of its members were announced on Wednesday, with Hamas having agreed to have no role in the government.
Above that will be an Executive Committee based outside Gaza to oversee the new government’s work.” [Jon Donnison, 15/1/26]
“The NCAG will be led by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority (PA) which governs parts of the occupied West Bank not under Israeli control.” [Claire Keenan, 17/1/26]
“That committee is made up of supposedly technocratic, apolitical Palestinians, led by Dr Ali Shaath, a civil engineer by training who’s held ministerial positions in the Palestinian Authority.” [John Sudworth, 17/1/26]
“It comes after the announcement of a separate 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), charged with managing the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza.
Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority (PA) which governs parts of the occupied West Bank not under Israeli control, will head that new committee.” [Maia Davies, 17/1/26]
BBC audiences were not provided with any information about the members of the committee charged with managing and demilitarising the Gaza Strip, with the exception of brief descriptions of its chairman Ali Shaath.
On the topic of the “Gaza Executive Board”, readers of Rachel Muller-Heyndyk’s January 18th report were told that:
“The US on Saturday named the first members of the Gaza Executive Board – including Turkey’s foreign minister, a Qatari official, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Netanyahu’s office has since said this was “not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy”. […]
Officials from Qatar and Turkey, which have both been critical of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, are confirmed members of the advisory panel.”
Readers were not reminded that both Qatar and Turkey host Hamas officials or that Qatar financed Hamas for years.
The January 21st report by David Gritten and Rachel Hagan tells BBC audiences that:
“Former UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov was appointed as the board’s representative in Gaza during a second phase of the plan, which includes reconstruction and demilitarisation, with the board authorised by a UN Security Council resolution running until the end of 2027.
On Saturday, Netanyahu’s office said the Gaza Executive Board’s composition “was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy”.
Israeli media said the decision to include representatives of Turkey and Qatar – which both helped broker the ceasefire that took effect in October, along with Egypt and the US – had happened “over Israel’s head”.”
None of the BBC’s reports make any serious effort to explain to audiences the concerns over the inclusion of Qatar and Turkey on that oversight committee.
Some of the BBC’s eight reports mention the central issue of demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip and note Hamas’ refusal to disarm – for example:
“First, Trump’s plan demands that Hamas, as well as other groups in Gaza, agree to disarm.
Announcing phase two of the deal, the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said failure to do so would “bring serious consequences”.
But Hamas has so far adamantly refused to give up its weapons, which it sees as tools of resistance to Israel’s decades-long military occupation.” [Jon Donnison, 15/1/26]
“As yet, there’s no clear road map for how Hamas will be persuaded to give up its weapons, nor any clear idea of which country will provide troops for that force or what its remit and rules of engagement will be.
Hamas has said it will only disarm as part of a wider deal establishing a Palestinian state.” [John Sudworth, 17/1/26]
The January 17th report by Maia Davies includes a reference to a police force in the Gaza Strip:
“Trump’s plan says an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) will also be deployed to Gaza to train and support vetted Palestinian police forces and the White House statement said that US Major General Jasper Jeffers would head this force to “establish security, preserve peace, and establish a durable terror-free environment”.”
Another reference to the police force appears in a graphic included in David Gritten’s January 22nd report:
Notably, since the appearance of those eight reports, visitors to the BBC News website have seen no follow-up coverage of the claim made by a Hamas official on January 28th that the issue of disarmament has not been discussed. Neither have audiences seen any mention of the reports claiming that Hamas seeks the inclusion of members of its police force and other ‘civil servants’ into the administration run by the NCAG.
Additional aspects of the BBC News website’s reporting will be discussed in part two of this post.
