DOHA, Qatar (AP) — An international body tasked with governing the Gaza Strip under the next phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire is expected to be announced by the end of the year, an Arab official and a Western diplomat said Friday.
According to the ceasefire agreement, the authority — known as the Board of Peace and chaired by U.S. President Donald Trump — is to oversee Gaza's reconstruction under a two-year, renewable U.N. mandate.
It will include about a dozen other Middle Eastern and Western leaders, the Arab official and the Western diplomat told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
Also to be announced is a committee of Palestinian technocrats who will run the day-to-day administration of post-war Gaza, they two said. The Western diplomat, who spoke to the AP over the phone from Cairo, said the announcement about this will likely happen when Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet later this month.
The ceasefire deal also calls for an armed International Stabilization Force to keep security and ensure the disarming of the militant Hamas group, a key demand of Israel.
The announcement would be a significant step forward in implementing Trump's 20-point plan for the territory devastated by Israel's two-year campaign against Hamas.
The shaky ceasefire, which came into effect on Oct. 10, has been tested by outbursts of violence and accusations by both sides of violations of the truce. The first phase of the ceasefire has neared completion, though Hamas is still to hand over the remains of a last Israel hostage called for under the deal.
The Arab official said that talks are still ongoing over which countries will take part in the international force for Gaza but that he expects deployment will begin in the first quarter of 2026.
A U.S. official gave a similar timeline, saying that “boots on the ground” could be a reality in early 2026. The official spoke to the AP on the same condition of anonymity. Axios first reported the anticipated announcement on Thursday.
The Arab official said that “extensive talks” will start immediately with Hamas and Israel on the details of the second phase, which he expects to be tough.
Those talks are expected the tackle the issue of disarming Hamas, a step the militant group has not yet agreed to. The plan also calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from the roughly half of the Gaza Strip that they still control as the international force deploys.
Funding for a rebuilding plan for the Gaza Strip still has not been determined. Some Palestinians have expressed concern over the apparent lack of a Palestinian voice in the body and the lack of a firm promise in the plan that they will eventually gain statehood.
Netanyahu's government rejects the creation of a Palestinian state, and the U.S.-brokered deal includes only a vague provision that a pathway toward statehood may be possible if certain conditions are met.
Israel announced on Wednesday that it plans to reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in the coming days, allowing Palestinians to leave the devastated strip as laid out by the ceasefire agreement. That could be a major development for residents, for whom leaving has been extremely difficult — if not impossible — for most of the war.
However, the governments of Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar all expressed “deep concern” on Friday about the plan.
A dispute also emerged between Egypt and Israel — Cairo wants Palestinians to be able to return to Gaza through the crossing and says it would only be opened if movement is allowed both ways. Israel has said that Palestinians will not be able to return to Gaza through the crossing until the last hostages’ remains are returned from Gaza.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the eight countries said the Rafah crossing must be open in both directions to allow for “freedom of movement” for Palestinians. They also expressed concern that if Palestinians were to leave Gaza, they might not be allowed to return.
The ministers underscored “their absolute rejection of any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land,” they wrote.
On Friday, Israel’s military said it killed a man in northern Gaza who was approaching the troops with another man, both of whom were “carrying suspicious objects.”
Israeli forces also killed another man in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 38-year-old was shot by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank while the military said the man threw a rock at soldiers.
The killings mark the latest violence in the Palestinian territories, which has fueled concern that it could shake Gaza's fragile truce.
The latest Israel-Hamas war started when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 others hostage. Israel’s subsequent campaign in Gaza has killed more than 70,100 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.
Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Doha, Qatar, and Megan Janetsky in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
Palestinians watch youths riding their motorcycles and ATV on sand dunes in the Al-Zahra area, in the central Gaza Strip, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians watch youths riding their motorcycles on sand dunes in the Al-Zahra area, in the central Gaza Strip, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians killed in an Israeli military strike, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix struck a deal Friday to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, the Hollywood giant behind “Harry Potter” and HBO Max, in a $72 billion deal that would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
If approved by regulators, the merger would put two of the world’s biggest streaming services under the same ownership — and join Warner's television and motion picture division, including DC Studios, with Netflix's vast library and its production arm, which has released popular titles such as “Stranger Things” and “Squid Game.”
The proposal could draw intense antitrust scrutiny, particularly for its effects on movie making and streaming subscriptions.
“Netflix is the top streaming service today. Now combined with HBO Max, it will absolutely cement itself as the Goliath in the streaming industry,” said Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at Forrester, a market research company.
The cash and stock deal is valued at $27.75 per Warner share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt. The transaction is expected to close in the next 12 to 18 months, after Warner completes its previously announced separation of its cable operations. Not included in the deal are networks such as CNN and Discovery.
One of the big unanswered questions, Proulx added, is whether HBO Max and Netflix would “stay as separate streaming services or combine into a mega streaming service."
But either way, he said, customers could see some price relief in the form of a single subscription bill or bundle promotions, which would be a welcome change as streaming prices continue to rise and consumers feel the pinch of paying for multiple services.
Of course, that all depends on whether the deal goes through. Netflix on Friday maintained that the addition of HBO and HBO Max programming will give its members “even more high-quality titles" and “optimize its plans for consumers.”
Others warned that a Netflix-Warner combo could create an even bigger entertainment titan with ramifications for both consumers and people working across the film and TV industry. Critics said the consequences could include job losses and a reduced variety of content.
Gaining Warner’s legacy studios would mark a notable shift for Netflix, particularly its presence in theaters. Under the proposed acquisition, Netflix has promised to continue theatrical releases for Warner’s studio films, honoring Warner’s contractual agreements.
Netflix has kept most of its original content within its core online platform. But there have been exceptions, including qualifying runs for its awards contenders, including this year’s “Frankenstein,” limited theater screenings of a “KPop Demon Hunters” sing-a-long and its coming “Stranger Things” series finale.
“Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, said in a statement, adding that merging with Warner will “give audiences more of what they love.”
David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, added that merging with Netflix “will ensure people everywhere will continue to enjoy the world’s most resonant stories for generations to come.”
Critics said a Netflix-Warner combo would be bad news for moviegoers and for people who work in theaters. Cinema United — a trade association that represents more than 30,000 movie screens in the U.S. and another 26,000 screens internationally — was quick to oppose the deal, which it said “poses an unprecedented threat to the global exhibition business.”
“Netflix’s stated business model does not support theatrical exhibition. In fact, it is the opposite,” Michael O’Leary, CEO of Cinema United, said Friday. "Theaters will close, communities will suffer, jobs will be lost.”
The Writers Guild of America sounded a similar alarm and called for the merger to be blocked.
The Producers Guild of America said the Netflix deal must prove that it protects workers' livelihoods and theatrical distribution. “Legacy studios are more than content libraries — within their vaults are the character and culture of our nation," the union added.
Warner Bros., which is 102 years old, is one of the “big five” studios left in Hollywood. If the Netflix sale goes through, the remaining legacy studios would be Disney, Paramount, Sony Pictures and Universal.
The Netflix-Warner deal also sent shock waves through Washington, on both sides of the aisle.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a longtime antitrust hawk, said the proposed merger “looks like an anti-monopoly nightmare.” And Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican and close Trump ally, said the deal “raises serious red flags for consumers, creators, movie theaters and local businesses alike.”
Friday’s announcement followed a monthslong bidding war for Warner. Rumors of interest from Netflix, as well as NBC owner Comcast, started bubbling up in the fall. Skydance-owned Paramount, which completed its own $8 billion merger in August, also reportedly made several all-cash offers.
Paramount seemed like the front-runner for some time, and unlike Netflix or Comcast, it was reportedly vying to buy Warner’s entire company, including its cable networks and news business.
Beyond combining two of Hollywood's legacy studios, that would have brought Paramount-owned CBS and Warner's CNN under the same roof. Such sizeable consolidation would have vastly reshaped America's TV media landscape, and perhaps raised questions about shifts in editorial control — as seen at CBS News both leading up to and following Skydance's purchase of Paramount.
Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday from The Associated Press.
While Netflix's bid won over Warner's approval, experts stressed that a bumpy regulatory road lies ahead.
“No doubt politics are going to come into play,” Proulx said. He pointed particularly to the Trump administration’s relationship with the family of Larry Ellison, whose son David runs Paramount, and reports of that company’s frustrations over Warner's sale process — both of which, he noted, “can’t be ignored as part of the calculus as to the outcome of all of this.”
Christina DePasquale, a Johns Hopkins University professor who specializes in antitrust issues, said the government might be skeptical of a streaming behemoth controlling both the production and distribution of content.
Warner Bros. Discovery, which was formed just three and a half years ago, announced its intention to split its streaming and studio operations from its cable business back in June. The move arrived as more and more consumers continue to “cut the cord” and rely almost entirely on streaming.
The company outlined plans for HBO, HBO Max, as well as Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group and DC Studios, to become part of a new streaming and studios company. That is what Netflix is now acquiring. Meanwhile, networks such as CNN, Discovery and TNT Sports and other digital products will make up a separate cable counterpart called Discovery Global.
Warner signaled that it was open to a sale of all of parts of its business back in October, citing “unsolicited interest" it had received. Now that it's agreed to Netflix's bid, Discovery Global is set to become a new publicly traded company by the third quarter of 2026.
Ott reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Matt Sedensky in New York, Matt Brown in Washington and Lindsey Bahr in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.
The Warner Bros. water tower is seen at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif., Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Warner Bros. water tower is seen at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif., Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
An aerial view shows Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif., Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
FILE - A visitor walks past portraits of DC Comics superheroes as she enters the "Action and Magic Made Here" interactive experience at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood media preview on June 24, 2021, in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - The Netflix logo is shown in this photo from the company's website on Feb. 2, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
