The new “government of technocrats” in Gaza, with the consent of Hamas, was headed by PA official Ali Shaath

Shaath was virtually unknown to the general public. Born in 1958 in Khan Younis, in the south of the sector then under Egyptian occupation, he trained as an engineer in Cairo and became a PA official.

In his first interview, he said that what was needed was not the restoration of Gaza, but its construction anew. He paid special attention to the issues of water supply and providing residents, many of whom have become refugees, with quality drinking water: “This is necessary for both schools and hospitals, which were destroyed.”

From the ruins left after two years of hostilities, Shaat proposed creating an artificial island to increase the territory of the sector.

According to Arab media, the composition of the new sector administration was jointly determined by Hamas and Fatah and approved at a meeting in Cairo by Palestinian factions. It raised no objections from either Israel or the United States. A Hamas spokesman told Reuters he welcomed the creation of the committee, adding that the movement was ready to hand over responsibility to it.

According to blogger Abu Ali, who specializes in Middle Eastern politics, in the morning Shaath, along with several other ministers, arrived at Cairo International Airport to head to Gaza.