Israeli repeated breaches of the Gaza ceasefire are creating serious obstacles to advancing the peace process, Turkiye’s foreign minister has warned, as mediators met in the United States to assess the agreement’s first phase.
Hakan Fidan said Israel’s actions are “making the process incredibly more difficult” and pose major risks to moving into the second phase of the ceasefire. Speaking to Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu, Fidan said there was broad agreement among mediators that the violations are undermining the peace framework proposed by Donald Trump.
Fidan made the remarks after joining diplomats from the United States, Egypt and Qatar in Miami, where senior officials reviewed the first phase of the ceasefire reached in October. The talks also included a meeting with Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, according to a joint statement released on Saturday.
Following the meeting, Witkoff said the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye urged all parties to respect their commitments, exercise restraint and cooperate with monitoring mechanisms designed to uphold the truce.
The discussions took place amid continued Israeli attacks on Gaza. According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, Israel has violated the ceasefire more than 730 times since October, including through air strikes, artillery fire and direct shootings. Officials say around 400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire came into effect.
In one of the latest incidents, Israeli forces struck a school sheltering displaced people, killing six civilians. Israeli military operations have continued despite international calls for de-escalation.
“We reaffirm our full commitment to the entirety of the President’s 20-point peace plan,” Witkoff said in a statement posted on X, calling on all sides to uphold their obligations and cooperate with ceasefire oversight efforts.
Concerns over Israel’s conduct were echoed earlier this week by Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who warned that near-daily violations could derail the entire agreement. After meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, he called for urgent progress toward the second phase to bring the war to an end.
First Phase Under Review
Despite the challenges, mediators highlighted progress achieved during the first stage of the truce, including increased humanitarian aid, the return of captives’ bodies, partial Israeli withdrawals and a reduction in hostilities. The joint statement called for the swift establishment of a transitional administration in Gaza, a key step planned for the second phase.
Fidan described the Miami meeting as one of the most significant diplomatic efforts since earlier talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, noting that discussions continued late into the night on how to move forward.
Under the ceasefire terms, Israel is expected to withdraw from Gaza positions, an interim authority would govern the territory instead of Hamas, and an international stabilisation force would be deployed. Rubio said on Friday he hoped countries would contribute troops, while stressing that Hamas must be disarmed for the process to succeed.
Hamas and Humanitarian Concerns
Separately, Hamas’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, met with Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin in Istanbul. Hamas said it remains committed to the ceasefire despite Israeli violations, while warning of a worsening humanitarian crisis as winter conditions intensify.
Aid agencies say Israeli restrictions continue to block life-saving assistance, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians exposed to severe weather. Meanwhile, Gaza’s civil defence teams reported recovering dozens of bodies from rubble, with thousands more believed to remain buried as Israeli strikes continue.