Mediators Qatar and Egypt call for next steps in Gaza ceasefire

Egypt and Qatar 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.

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A Palestinian child stands at the site of an Israeli strike on tents in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 4, 2025.

(REUTERS)

The measures were spelt out in the USand UN-backed peace plan that has largely halted fighting, though the warring parties 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 so-called "yellow line" within Gaza’s borders, while Palestinian militant group Hamas released the living hostages 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.

Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, helped secure the long-elusive truce, which remains delicate as Israel and Hamas accuse each other of breaching its terms.

Key sticking points have also emerged over the implementation of the second phase, which has yet to begin, including the question of Hamas's disarmament.

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.