Officials from Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt convened in Cairo on Wednesday to deliberate the next steps in the ongoing Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement.
Reports indicate that the meeting featured the intelligence heads of Turkey and Egypt, alongside Qatar’s prime minister.
A Turkish source informed Reuters that the discussions included plans to enhance coordination and cooperation with the Civil Military Coordination Center. This effort aims to remove any barriers to maintaining the ceasefire and to address violations by Israel, according to the source.
Red Cross teams prepare to enter the area known as the “yellow line,” where Israeli forces have retreated under the ceasefire in Gaza City on November 12, 2025. (Photo by Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)
Despite mutual accusations of ceasefire breaches by Hamas and Israel, mediators are pushing forward to implement the agreement’s next phase.
The upcoming stage includes the introduction of an international stabilization force and the establishment of a governing body for Gaza. This phase also calls for Hamas to disarm. In parallel, Israel is expected to withdraw further from the “yellow line” to facilitate the transition to the international force, as reported by The Times of Israel.
An Israeli soldier looks out at destroyed buildings, as seen from a guard position at an Israeli military outpost within the borders of the “yellow line” in the Shujaiya neighborhood in the eastern part of Gaza City in the Gaza Strip on Nov. 5, 2025. (Nir Elias/Reuters)
On Tuesday, Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians in exchange for the remains of Israeli hostage Dror Or. Israel has said that Or and his wife, Yonat Or, were killed during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Kibbutz Be’eri.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement that as their house caught on fire, Dror and Yonat evacuated their children through a window in the safe room, saving their lives. The couple split up in an attempt to escape, but they were both murdered by the terrorists. Two of their children, Noam and Alma, were taken hostage.
On Nov. 25, 2023, Noam and Alma were released in the first hostage exchange, exactly two years before their father’s remains would be returned to Israel.
This undated photo provided by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum shows Israeli hostage Dror Or, who was abducted and brought to Gaza in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum via AP)
The remains of two hostages — one Israeli, Ran Gvili, and one Thai national, Sudthisak Rinthalak — are still in Gaza.
Hamas has committed to upholding its end of the deal and returning both, but did not give a timeline on when that may happen, according to The Associated Press.
