Gaza mediators urge Israel, Hamas to keep to truce after Miami meet yields little progress

The mediators of the fragile Gaza ceasefire expressed their support for the swift establishment of the Board of Peace envisioned by US President Donald Trump, along with a technocratic Palestinian government to oversee the postwar management of the Strip, and urged Israel and Hamas to adhere to Trump’s Gaza peace plan and exercise more restraint to avoid a return to war, according to a joint statement.

The statement, issued after a meeting that representatives of the four countries held yesterday in Miami, is light on details and doesn’t contain any new announcement.

A source briefed on the Friday meeting — held between US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani, Egyptian intel chief Hassan Rashad and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan — said little progress was made.

The source says advancement into the second phase of the ceasefire will require compromises from the leaders of Israel and Hamas regarding the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza and the terror group’s disarmament.

The mediators discussed ways to pressure the two sides toward an agreement, but the source says that Israel and Hamas can’t be forced against their will.

The joint statement says the four representatives met “to review the implementation of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire and to advance preparations for the second phase.”

Israel and Hamas haven’t formally signed on to the second phase of the agreement as outlined in Trump’s 20-point peace plan, but it is supposed to see the establishment of a Palestinian technocratic government overseen by a Trump-led Board of Peace along with the deployment of an International Stabilization Force that phases out the IDF and advances the the decommissioning of Hamas’s weapons and the demilitarization of Gaza.

The US has struggled to recruit countries to join the ISF. Nonetheless, the joint statement from mediators insists that the first phase “has yielded progress, including expanded humanitarian assistance, the return of hostage bodies, partial force withdrawals and a reduction in hostilities.”

The mediators say that during their meeting yesterday, they “emphasized enabling a governing body in Gaza under a unified Gazan authority to protect civilians and maintain public order.” This appears to be a reference to the Palestinian technocratic government that also has yet to be stood up.

The mediators say they also discussed “regional integration measures, including trade facilitation, infrastructure development and cooperation on energy, water and other shared resources,” saying this will be “essential to Gaza’s recovery, regional stability and long-term prosperity.”