Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, declared on Saturday that the current halt in fighting in Gaza has reached a “critical moment” as the first phase of the US-brokered deal winds down. Speaking at the Doha Forum, the Prime Minister stressed that the current situation cannot yet be considered a true ceasefire.
“What we have just done is a pause,” he told the international conference in the Qatari capital. “We cannot consider it a ceasefire yet. 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 asserted.
Violations and the ‘Yellow Line’
The current truce, which took effect on October 10, has been marred by continued violence. Gaza health officials report that over 360 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the pause began. This includes two Palestinians reportedly killed in a recent Israeli airstrike northwest of Gaza City, a claim the Israeli army said it was not aware of.
The Israeli military acknowledged that its soldiers killed three militants on Saturday who crossed the “yellow line” into the Israeli-controlled northern part of Gaza, stating the militants “posed an immediate threat.” The “yellow line” is a non-physical demarcation line that separates Israeli military deployment zones from areas where Palestinians are allowed to move within the Strip under the ceasefire agreement.
Stalled Second Phase
The next phase of the peace plan—which requires an agreement between mediators Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, and the US—has not yet commenced. This subsequent stage is expected to include:
- The deployment of an international security force in Gaza.
- The formation of a new technocratic government.
- The disarmament of Hamas.
- The eventual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The Qatari Prime Minister underscored the need for this temporary pause to transition into a permanent political solution, arguing that peace in the region is impossible without addressing the larger issue of Palestinian statehood.