Camille Naredo

Palestinians carry gallons and buckets as they walk along a war-damaged street in Gaza City on August 8, 2025. Bashar Taleb, AFP/File

Palestinians carry gallons and buckets as they walk along a war-damaged street in Gaza City on August 8, 2025. Israel's military will "take control" of Gaza City under a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and approved by his security cabinet, triggered a wave of criticism from across the world. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)

Article (news)

GAZA

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1761145605601AFP__20250808__693H9ZQ__v1__MidRes__PalestinianIsraelConflict.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Palestinians carry gallons and buckets as they walk along a war-damaged street in Gaza City on August 8, 2025. Bashar Taleb, AFP/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Palestinians carry gallons and buckets as they walk along a war-damaged street in Gaza City on August 8, 2025. <em>Bashar Taleb, AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>DOHA, Qatar -- Turkey and Qatar are intensifying efforts to preserve the fragile Gaza ceasefire, with their leaders meeting in Doha Wednesday as diplomatic and intelligence chiefs coordinated to prevent renewed fighting, officials and sources said.</p><p>In a sign of deepening engagement, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Hamas officials in Doha late Tuesday, a day before top-level talks between Turkey&#x27;s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar&#x27;s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.</p><p>All meetings were behind closed doors, with both sides cautious to avoid jeopardizing what diplomats say is a highly sensitive phase in the ceasefire.</p><p>Asked whether the talks addressed Hamas&#x27;s political future or the proposed Gaza task force, a Turkish official said no concrete decisions had been made.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/10/21/us-piles-pressure-on-hamas-to-respect-gaza-truce-2037">READ: US piles pressure on Hamas to respect Gaza truce</a></div><p>&quot;These issues will depend on how Israel and the United States position themselves during the process,&quot; the official told AFP.</p><p>Turkey&#x27;s foreign ministry released a picture of Kalin and Fidan meeting the Hamas delegation led by Mohammed Darwish, who affirmed in a statement the movement&#x27;s commitment &quot;to a complete ceasefire despite repeated enemy violations&quot;.</p><p>&quot;Efforts by Turkey and Qatar will be crucial to maintaining the ceasefire and shaping Gaza&#x27;s future,&quot; Palestinian analyst Ahmad al-Heela told AFP, citing their ties to both the US and Hamas.</p><p>&quot;However, Qatar and Turkey face the challenge of persuading the US administration that Palestinians must have a voice in Gaza&#x27;s future -- a step toward a two-state solution,&quot; he added.</p><p>During their talks, Erdogan told Qatar&#x27;s emir the Gaza ceasefire &quot;has provided relief to Palestinians&quot; but said the two-state solution was the only way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian issue, his office said.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/10/20/israel-and-hamas-accuse-each-other-of-breaching-gaza-truce-amid-strikes-clashes-0107">READ: Israel and Hamas accuse each other of breaching Gaza truce amid strikes, clashes</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Turkish team at Egypt border -</strong></div><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAFz8gWM8iRADsJr&amp;cid=ABn_YDb0L9cUsGNR"></script><p>Turkey has taken an active role in talks to secure a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and voiced strong support for US President Donald Trump&#x27;s peace plan, in what one expert said would balance Washington&#x27;s pro-Israel stance.</p><p>&quot;Turkey&#x27;s entry into the mediation role regarding Gaza for the first time represents an opportunity to strike a balance in mediation efforts in cooperation with Qatar and Egypt,&quot; the Vienna-based political analyst Hossam Shaker told AFP, saying it would help curb &quot;the usual American bias toward Israel&quot;.</p><p>Erdogan has said Turkey was ready to join the international task force in Gaza, with its military also expressing willingness to participate if needed.</p><p>A Turkish diplomatic source told AFP &quot;the task force, or stability force is expected to have a military component&quot; but said its structure hadn&#x27;t been decided with talks continuing over which nations would join and at what level.</p><p>Turkey has dispatched 81 disaster response specialists who are still &quot;waiting at the Egyptian border&quot; for Israel&#x27;s green light to enter Gaza, an official said.</p><p>The team from Turkey&#x27;s disaster management agency will help recover Palestinian and Israeli bodies, including hostages believed to be buried or hidden in collapsed structures.</p><div><a class="fr-strong fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/10/20/israel-says-halting-gaza-strikes-after-accusing-hamas-of-violating-truce-0819">READ: Israel says halting Gaza strikes after accusing Hamas of violating truce</a></div><p>Apart from the Gaza talks, Turkey and Qatar signed several agreements including in the area of defense industry cooperation.</p><p>Ankara is seeking to acquire some of Qatar&#x27;s used Eurofighter Typhoon jets, a security source told AFP ahead of Erdogan&#x27;s visit.</p><p>Andreas Krieg, a security expert at King&#x27;s College London, said it would likely involve the sale of around a dozen Eurofighters in a deal that could &quot;happen very quickly&quot;.</p><p>&quot;I think at most, they&#x27;ll be selling 12 (Eurofighters) to Turkey and obviously that transfer will only take place once the new planes (ordered by Qatar) come in, probably by the end of the year, early 2026,&quot; he told AFP.</p><p>The Turkish official gave little away about Wednesday&#x27;s talks, saying only: &quot;The details of the defence industry cooperation agreement will be clarified in the coming days.&quot;</p>

<p>Turkey and Qatar are intensifying efforts to preserve the fragile Gaza ceasefire, with their leaders meeting in Doha Wednesday as diplomatic and intelligence chiefs coordinated to prevent renewed fighting. </p>

Turkey and Qatar are intensifying efforts to preserve the fragile Gaza ceasefire, with their leaders meeting in Doha Wednesday as diplomatic and intelligence chiefs coordinated to prevent renewed fighting.

Turkey, Qatar step up bid to protect Gaza truce

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Turkey, Qatar step up bid to protect Gaza truce

Fulya Ozerkan,

Agence France-Presse

Published Oct 23, 2025 12:42 AM PHT

Read More:

Gaza

Hamas

Palestine

Israel

Israel-Hamas War

Turkey

Qatar

ceasefire

Middle East

conflict

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