Bulgarian diplomat to head peace board in Gaza

The appointment, announced by Israel, is a key step forward for the U.S. plan.

- WAFAA SHURAFA, SAM METZ AND SUZAN FRASER

RELATIVES of Palestinians who lost their lives in Israeli attacks mourn at a funeral Thursday near Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip. Continued Israeli strikes have killed more than 400 Palestinians, health officials said.

Israel's prime minister said a former U.N. Middle East envoy, Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, has been chosen to serve as the director-general for President Trump's Board of Peace aimed at overseeing the peace process in Gaza.

The appointment marks an important step forward for Trump's peace plan, which has stalled since an October ceasefire ending more than two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement after meeting Mladenov in Jerusalem. The announcement included photos of the two men and a short video, without sound, of them shaking hands.

In the announcement, Netanyahu identified Mladenov as the "designated" director-general for the board, which is meant to oversee the implementation of the second and far more complicated phase of the ceasefire. There was no immediate confirmation from Washington.

Trump is expected to name the members of the board later this month, with Mladenov serving as their on-the-ground representative.

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the appointment has not been officially announced, confirmed Mladenov is the Trump administration's choice to be the day-to-day administrator of the Board of Peace.

Under Trump's plan, the board is supposed to supervise a new technocratic Palestinian government, the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force, additional pullbacks of Israeli troops and reconstruction. Mladenov is a former Bulgarian defense and foreign minister who served as the U.N. envoy to Iraq before being appointed as the U.N. Middle East peace envoy from 2015-20. During that time, he frequently worked to ease tensions between Israel and Hamas.