Negotiations to consolidate the US-backed truce in Gaza are at a “critical” moment, Qatar’s prime minister said Friday, as mediators press to move the cease-fire to its next phase while violence continues to flare.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told a Doha Forum panel that mediators were working to “force the next phase” of the cease-fire forward, calling the current halt in fighting a pause rather than a resolution. “We are at a critical moment. It’s not yet there,” he said.
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The truce took effect Oct. 10 and has substantially reduced large-scale fighting, but it has not stopped. Health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza reported at least seven people killed Friday in Beit Lahiya, Jabalia and Zeitoun, including a 70-year-old woman they said died in a drone strike. The Israeli military said it was unaware of any such drone strike.
Since the truce began, Hamas has returned all 20 living hostages and 27 bodies in exchange for roughly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners, a key initial step under the plan put forward by US President Donald Trump.
That plan envisions an interim technocratic Palestinian government in Gaza overseen by an international “board of peace” and backed by an international security force. Negotiators say agreeing on the makeup, mandate and command structure of that force has been particularly challenging.
On Thursday, an Israeli delegation met mediators in Cairo to discuss the return of the last remaining hostage in Gaza — a move that would complete the initial part of Mr. Trump’s proposal and unlock further steps of the agreement, officials said.
Under the second phase, which has not begun, Israel would withdraw from positions in Gaza, an interim authority would assume governance, and an international stabilization force would be deployed to monitor the truce — including along the so-called “yellow line” marking an agreed withdrawal zone.
Egypt, which helped negotiate the truce, called for the rapid deployment of that force. “We need to deploy this force as soon as possible on the ground because one party, which is Israel, is every day violating the ceasefire,” Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said at the forum.
But Arab and Muslim states have been cautious about participating in a force that could confront Palestinian militants. Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, said questions remain about command and contributors and that the mission’s first objective “should be to separate Palestinians from the Israelis.”
Israel has continued targeted strikes and demolition operations it says are against Hamas infrastructure. The military said its forces in northern Gaza fired on militants who crossed the yellow line in two separate incidents, killing three people. Hamas and Israel have traded blame for cease-fire violations.
Israel has also said it will open the Rafah crossing for exits to Egypt soon and will allow entry through Rafah into Gaza once the last deceased hostage is returned, a further condition tied to advancing the agreement.
With disagreements over the force and governance unresolved, mediators warned that the truce’s fragile gains could unravel unless the next phase is agreed and implemented quickly.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
