DOHA: Qatar and Egypt, guarantors of the Gaza ceasefire, called on Saturday for the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the deployment of an international stabilisation force as the necessary next steps in fully implementing the fragile agreement.

The measures were spelt out in the US- and UN-backed peace plan that has largely halted the fighting, though Hamas and Israel have yet to agree on how to move forward from the deal’s first phase.

Its initial steps saw Israeli troops pull back behind a “yellow line” within Gaza’, while Hamas released the living Israeli prisoners it still held and handed over the remains of all but one of the deceased.

“Now we are at the critical moment... A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of the Israeli forces, (and) there is stability back in Gaza,” Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Doha Forum, an annual diplomatic conference.

Turkiye says administrative set-up, police for Gaza should precede Hamas disarmament

Under a second phase of the deal, which has yet to begin, Israel is to withdraw from its positions in the territory, an interim authority is to take over governance, and an international stabilisation force is to be deployed.

Muslim nations, however, have been hesitant to participate in the new force, which could end up fighting Palestinian.

‘Main objective’

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the forum that talks on the force were ongoing, with critical questions remaining as to its command structure and which countries would contribute.

But its first goal, Fidan said, “should be to separate Palestinians from Israelis”.

“This should be our main objective. Then we can address the other remaining issues,” he added.

Abdelatty seconded the idea, calling for the force to be deployed along “the yellow line in order to verify and to monitor” the truce.

There have been multiple deadly incidents of Israeli forces firing on Palestinians in the vicinity of the yellow line since the ceasefire went into effect.

Hamas is supposed to disarm under the 20-point plan first outlined by US President Donald Trump, with members who decommission their weapons allowed to leave Gaza. The group has repeatedly rejected the proposition.

Turkish stance

Turkiye, which is also a guarantor of the truce, has indicated it wants to take part in the stabilisation force, but its efforts are viewed unfavourably in Israel, which considers Ankara too close to Hamas.

Fidan, the Turkish foreign minister, later said at the Doha Forum that the disarmament of Hamas should not be the main priority in Gaza.

“That cannot be the first thing to do in the process, the disarming. We need to put things in (their) proper order, we have to be realistic. An administrative set-up and police force for Gaza should come before Hamas’s disarmament,” he said.

He also urged the US to intervene with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure the plan succeeds.

“If they don’t intervene, I’m afraid there is a risk the plan can fail,” Fidan said.

“The amount of daily violations of the ceasefire by the Israelis is indescribable at the moment and all indicators are showing that there is a huge risk of stopping the process,” he added.

Sheikh Mohammed, the Qatari prime minister, said his country and the other truce guarantors were “getting together in order to force the way forward for the next phase” of the deal.

“And this next phase is just also temporary from our perspective,” he said, calling for a “lasting solution that provides justice for both people”.

The ceasefire plan calls for Gaza’s vital Rafah crossing, on the border

with Egypt, to be reopened to allow in aid, a goal shared by humanitarian actors.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2025