DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Qatar’s prime minister on Saturday said the Gaza ceasefire has reached a “critical moment” as its first phase winds down, with the remains of just one Israeli hostage still held by militants.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told an international conference in the Qatari capital that international mediators, led by the U.S., are working “to force the way forward” to the second phase to cement the deal.
“What we have just done is a pause,” he told the Doha Forum. “We cannot consider it yet a ceasefire.”
“A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, there is stability back in Gaza, people can go in and out, which is not the case today,” he said.
While the ceasefire halted the heavy fighting of the two-year war, Gaza health officials say that over 360 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the truce took effect in October.
In new violence, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike northwest of Gaza City, Shifa Hospital said.
Israel's army said it wasn't aware of an airstrike in that location. However, it said that Israeli soldiers on Saturday killed three militants who crossed the “yellow line” into Israeli-controlled northern part of Gaza and “posed an immediate threat."
Since the ceasefire, the Israeli army says it has carried out a number of attacks on Palestinians crossing the ceasefire lines.
Second phase hasn't begun
The first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan took effect Oct. 10. The fighting stopped and dozens of hostages held in Gaza were exchanged for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prison. Israel sent a delegation last week to Egypt for talks on returning the remains of the last hostage.
The next phase, which includes the deployment of an international security force in Gaza, formation of a new technocratic government for the territory, disarmament of Hamas and an eventual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, has not yet begun.
Arab and Western officials told The Associated Press on Friday that an international body overseeing the ceasefire, to be led by Trump himself, is expected to be appointed by the end of the year. In the long term, the plan also calls for a possible “pathway” to Palestinian independence.
Sheikh Mohammed said that even the upcoming phase should be “temporary” and that peace in the region could only take place with the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state — something that is opposed by Israel's hard-line government.
“If we are just resolving what happened in Gaza, the catastrophe that happened in the last two years, it’s not enough,” he said. “There is a root for this conflict. And this conflict is not only about Gaza."
He added: “It’s about Gaza. It’s about the West Bank. It’s about the rights of the Palestinians for their state. We are hoping that we can work together with the U.S. administration to achieve this vision at the end of the day.”
Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said there is a “big question” over the formation of an international security force for Gaza. Speaking at the same conference, he said it's unclear which countries will be joining the force, what the command structure would look like and what its “first mission” will be.
Turkey is one of the “guarantors” of the ceasefire, but Israel, which has rocky relations with the Ankara government, has rejected any Turkish participation in the force.
“Thousands of details, questions are in place,” Fidan said. "I think once we deploy ISF, the rest will come.”
UN agency seeks a clear role in Gaza
A day after an overwhelming international endorsement, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said its future role in Gaza is unclear.
Throughout the war, Israel and the United States have sidelined UNRWA, accusing it cooperating with Hamas, a charge UNRWA denies.
Tamara Alrifai, UNRWA’s director of external relations and communications, said her agency continues to offer humanitarian and educational services in Gaza. But she said UNRWA has been excluded from U.S.-led talks on the second phase of the ceasefire.
Alrifai said that UNRWA serves as the de facto “public sector” in Gaza. And with 12,000 employees, she said it will be nearly impossible for the international community to duplicate the agency's network of services.
“If you squeeze UNRWA out, what other agency can fill that void?” she said on the sidelines of the Doha Forum in Qatar.
The U.S., formerly the largest donor to UNRWA, halted funding to the agency in early 2024. On Friday, the U.N. General Assembly renewed UNRWA’s mandate through 2029. But Alrifai said the cash crisis continues.
“Votes are great. Cash is better,” Alrifai said.
Over 70,000 killed in Gaza
The war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants entered Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking over 250 people hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed over 70,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says that nearly half the dead have been women and children. The ministry is part of Gaza's Hamas government and its numbers are considered reliable by the U.N. and other international bodies.
Israel accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
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