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Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone call on Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss efforts to maintain the Gaza cease-fire and ensure the continuous flow of humanitarian aid, according to diplomatic sources from the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
During the conversation, the ministers also reviewed the implementation of the Declaration of Intent signed in Sharm el-Sheikh and exchanged views on regional and global developments, including Syria, Iran’s nuclear program, and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump last week announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his peace plan for Gaza, unveiled on Sept. 29.
The plan includes a cease-fire, the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave. The first phase took effect last Friday.
Under the deal, Hamas released 20 Israeli hostages and handed over the remains of 10 others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Phase two of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas, the deployment of a multinational stabilization force, and the disarmament of the group.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians—most of them women and children—leaving the enclave largely uninhabitable.
Meanwhile, on March 10, the Syrian presidency announced an agreement to integrate the SDF into state institutions, stressing Syria’s territorial integrity and rejecting separatism.
The SDF, dominated by the YPG—the Syrian branch of the terrorist PKK—has reportedly violated the agreement several times.
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