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Mladenov Shuttle Talks between Israel and Ramallah Hasten Gaza Administration Committee

A general view shows the destruction in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza (AFP)
A general view shows the destruction in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza (AFP)
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Mladenov Shuttle Talks between Israel and Ramallah Hasten Gaza Administration Committee

A general view shows the destruction in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza (AFP)
A general view shows the destruction in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza (AFP)

Nickolay Mladenov, the man chosen to serve as the director-general for US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace in Gaza, discussed arrangements for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement with Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh.

The meeting, which took place a day after Mladenov met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was viewed by experts speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat as increasing the chances of launching the second phase and announcing the formation of a body to administer Gaza.

Netanyahu had announced the selection of Bulgarian diplomat Mladenov, the former United Nations Middle East envoy from early 2015 until the end of 2020, to serve as director general of the Board of Peace, chaired by US President Donald Trump and tasked with overseeing the peace process in Gaza.

Al-Sheikh received Mladenov and his accompanying delegation on Friday at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, in the presence of Maj. Gen. Majed Faraj, head of the General Intelligence Service, according to the Palestinian News Agency, which did not describe Mladenov by his new American-appointed title.

The meeting discussed “the role of the Palestinian administrative committee and Palestinian police and security forces in assuming their duties and linking them to the Palestinian Authority, the holder of sovereignty and legitimacy, as well as ways to implement the second phase of President Trump’s plan as the announcement of the Board of Peace approaches.”

Al-Sheikh stressed the need to begin implementing the second phase, underlining the importance of a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as part of that phase, which includes ending Hamas rule, handing over its weapons, and moving toward reconstruction under President Trump’s plan.

He also stressed that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the State of Palestine, highlighting the importance of political, administrative, and legal linkage between Palestinian institutions in Gaza and the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank, and respect for the principle of one authority, one law, and one legitimate weapon.

Al-Sheikh said that while a transitional plan is being implemented in Gaza, there must be an urgent plan to halt all unilateral actions that violate international law, foremost among them settlement expansion, settler violence, and the release of withheld Palestinian funds.

On Thursday evening, the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement that Netanyahu insisted on the need to disarm Hamas and demilitarize Gaza, describing both as conditions under the Trump administration’s 20-point ceasefire plan.

Tarek Fahmy, a professor of political science specializing in Palestinian and Israeli affairs, said Mladenov is a professional diplomat with a good reputation and will be the board’s appointed director, despite being ranked second after former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who did not enjoy widespread Arab acceptance.

Fahmy said Mladenov is “preparing the ground and accelerating steps toward announcing a technocratic committee under Palestinian leadership.”

Palestinian political analyst Abdul Mahdi Moutawe said Mladenov is not new to Gaza, noting his previous role at the UN in the Middle East.

He said Mladenov met Netanyahu and al-Sheikh to gauge positions and narrow differences in order to reach understandings leading to partial Palestinian administration of Gaza, which would expand as progress is made in the second phase, and depending on the ability to resolve obstacles, particularly those related to disarming Hamas and the enclave.

Under Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, the territory would be governed by a temporary Palestinian transitional committee composed of nonpartisan technocrats, under the supervision and oversight of the Board of Peace.

The US website Axios cited American officials and informed sources as saying Trump is expected to announce the Board of Peace this week as part of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on Oct. 10.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, in a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday evening, stressed the importance of an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the announcement of a temporary Palestinian technocratic committee to administer the enclave, and the formation of an international stabilization force.

Fahmy expects the Board of Peace to be announced in the coming days, alongside pressure to announce the committee and avoid objections to proposed names, in order to begin implementing the second phase in earnest and away from any Israeli maneuvering or obstruction.

Moutawe believes the board and the administrative committee will be announced this week, allowing them to move forward with the second phase and begin its actual implementation.

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Arab World

Israeli Evacuation Orders Affect 14% of Lebanon, NGO Says

Emergency personnel at the scene after an Israeli airstrike had targeted a neighborhood in the town of Mieh Mieh near Sidon, southern Lebanon, 13 March 2026. (EPA)
Emergency personnel at the scene after an Israeli airstrike had targeted a neighborhood in the town of Mieh Mieh near Sidon, southern Lebanon, 13 March 2026. (EPA)
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Israeli Evacuation Orders Affect 14% of Lebanon, NGO Says

Emergency personnel at the scene after an Israeli airstrike had targeted a neighborhood in the town of Mieh Mieh near Sidon, southern Lebanon, 13 March 2026. (EPA)
Emergency personnel at the scene after an Israeli airstrike had targeted a neighborhood in the town of Mieh Mieh near Sidon, southern Lebanon, 13 March 2026. (EPA)

Over an eighth of Lebanon's territory is under Israeli orders for people to leave their homes, an aid group said on Friday, while the United Nations peacekeeping mission said Israeli ground troops were making incursions and erecting roadblocks.

Israel has been carrying out daily strikes on Lebanon since March 2 when the Iran-backed group Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader in Tehran on the first ‌day of ‌the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Almost 700 people ‌in ⁠Lebanon have died ⁠in Israeli attacks and over 800,000 have been displaced. Israel's military says it has targeted Hezbollah militants and Iranian forces.

The Norwegian Refugee Council said Israel's evacuation orders for southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut now covered about 1,470 square kilometers or about 14% of the country.

"Israel’s mass evacuation orders have expanded to broad geographic directives, often ⁠demanding immediate movement, creating panic and fear across communities ‌that strikes are imminent – even when ‌they are not," said Maureen Philippon, NRC Country Director in Lebanon.

UN human rights ‌chief Volker Turk has said the blanket Israeli evacuation orders ‌raise serious international law concerns.

NRC's office in Tyre, south Lebanon, was badly damaged, it said, with no injuries. The Israeli military has carried out several strikes on Tyre since March 2, including a Tuesday strike on what ‌it described as a Hezbollah command center in the area.

The International Organization for Migration's Mathieu Luciano told a ⁠Geneva press ⁠briefing that around 600 shelters had been set up across the country, with many of them almost full. Hospitals are increasingly overstretched due to surging trauma cases, a World Health Organization official added.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon told the same briefing its operations had been limited by the ongoing hostilities which injured two soldiers a week ago. Still, its troops had observed Israeli troop incursions, saying they had travelled up to 7 kilometers inside Lebanon and erected roadblocks restricting access.

“We are deeply concerned that the situation will deteriorate further," UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said by video link from Lebanon.

Arab World

4 US Service Members Killed in Plane Crash Over Iraq

(FILES) A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling aircraft flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
(FILES) A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling aircraft flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
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4 US Service Members Killed in Plane Crash Over Iraq

(FILES) A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling aircraft flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
(FILES) A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling aircraft flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Four of the six crew members aboard a US military aircraft that crashed in western Iraq are confirmed to have been killed, the US military said on Friday, ⁠as rescue efforts ⁠continued for the remaining two.

A US military refueling aircraft crashed in western ⁠Iraq on Thursday, in an incident the military said involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.

"The circumstances of the incident are ⁠under ⁠investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," a statement from US Central Command said.

The plane was taking part in the operation against Iran.

Both President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have warned that the Iran war would likely claim more American lives before it ends.

Arab World

Iran War Raises Concerns Over Impact on Suez Canal Traffic

A ship transits the Suez Canal last month (Suez Canal Authority). 
A ship transits the Suez Canal last month (Suez Canal Authority). 
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Iran War Raises Concerns Over Impact on Suez Canal Traffic

A ship transits the Suez Canal last month (Suez Canal Authority). 
A ship transits the Suez Canal last month (Suez Canal Authority). 

The Iran war has sparked growing concern in Egypt over its potential impact on navigation through the Suez Canal, one of the country’s most important sources of national income. Experts say the conflict has already begun affecting traffic through the strategic waterway as security risks for ships increase.

Recent reports indicate that several major global shipping companies—including Denmark’s Maersk, France’s CMA CGM, and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd—have suspended the transit of some vessels through the canal.

The head of the Suez Canal Authority, Admiral Osama Rabie, expressed hope that regional stability would return soon, warning that escalating tensions could have serious repercussions for maritime transport and global supply chains.

In a statement issued Thursday, Rabie said the authority has moved to upgrade its maritime and navigational services and introduce new activities designed to meet customer needs in both normal and emergency circumstances. These include ship maintenance and repair services, maritime rescue operations and marine ambulance services, alongside continued modernization of the authority’s fleet of marine units.

Early impact on canal traffic

International transport expert Osama Aqil said the war’s effect on the canal had been evident since the first days of the conflict.

“Current indicators show that canal traffic has declined by about 50 percent since the war began,” Aqil told Asharq Al-Awsat. He attributed the drop to rising security risks and higher insurance premiums imposed on vessels passing through the region.

Aqil warned that the impact could deepen if the conflict drags on. Even after hostilities end, he said, it may take considerable time for shipping traffic to return to normal.

“International shipping groups that divert their vessels to the Cape of Good Hope route will likely sign contracts for the alternative passage,” he said. “Ending those arrangements and redirecting ships back through the canal will take time.”

Before the latest tensions, the Suez Canal had been showing signs of recovery following an earlier setback caused by Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea linked to the war in Gaza.

In January, the Suez Canal Authority said navigation statistics showed a “noticeable improvement” during the first half of the 2025–2026 fiscal year. Rabie said at the time that indicators pointed to improving revenues as some shipping lines resumed using the canal after conditions stabilized in the Red Sea.

Wider threat to global trade

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has also warned about the impact of regional tensions on shipping in the Red Sea. During a meeting in Cairo earlier this month with Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group, Sisi said Egypt had lost roughly $10 billion in Suez Canal revenues due to the Gaza war, according to the Egyptian presidency.

Aqil said the Iran war could affect not only the canal but global trade more broadly, which he said has already shown signs of slowing.

“If the conflict continues, transport costs will rise, which will push up prices for many goods and commodities,” he stated.

Suez Canal revenues dropped sharply in 2024, falling 61 percent to $3.9 billion, compared with about $10.2 billion in 2023.

Security risk management expert Major General Ihab Youssef noted that the continuation of the war poses a threat to global navigation, not only to the Suez Canal.

Egypt secures ships along the canal and up to the limits of its territorial waters, he remarked. However, vessels traveling to and from the waterway must still pass through areas affected by military operations in the Gulf region and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, prompting many shipping companies to reroute vessels around the Cape of Good Hope.

“Any closure of the Strait of Hormuz would further increase the risks of transit, particularly if the war is prolonged,” Youssef said.