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The United States wants Türkiye to take part in a Gaza peace mission alongside Qatar and Egypt because it views the three countries as the most capable of persuading Hamas “to agree and to behave,” U.S. outlet Axios reported Thursday, citing a U.S. official.
According to the report, the official said Washington believes Türkiye played a key role in securing the recent Gaza deal, adding: “The Turks were very helpful in getting the Gaza deal and Netanyahu’s bashing Turkey has been very counterproductive.”
“We are aware of the Israeli concerns and are working to create something that can achieve stability and that both sides can find acceptable,” the official said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Wednesday signaled opposition to any role for Turkish security forces in Gaza as part of a cease-fire monitoring mission. When asked about potential Turkish participation, Netanyahu responded: “I have very strong opinions about that. Want to guess what they are?”
A Turkish Defense Ministry source said last Thursday that Türkiye is in discussions with other countries about joining an international peacekeeping mission in Gaza, and that its military is “ready” if called upon.
The mission would operate under the U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) based in the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Gat. The CMCC was inaugurated last week by U.S. Vice President JD Vance to monitor the cease-fire.
Speaking at the inauguration Tuesday, Vance did not rule out a Turkish role. “We’re not going to force anything on our Israeli friends when it comes to foreign troops on their soil. But we do think that there’s a constructive role for the Turks to play, and frankly, they’ve already played a very constructive role,” he said.
Meanwhile, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman discussed the Gaza cease-fire with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, Qatar’s state news agency QNA reported. The two officials reviewed strategic ties between Doha and Washington and discussed the need to ensure full implementation of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, as well as broader regional stability.
The Qatari premier stressed “the importance of concerted regional and international efforts to ensure the full implementation of the agreement, and pave the way toward achieving sustainable peace and the desired stability in the region,” QNA said.
Since the Gaza cease-fire agreement began on Oct. 10, Hamas has released 20 Israeli captives alive and returned the remains of 19 others out of 28 listed captives, most of them Israelis. Israel says one body handed over did not match any of its listed captives.
Israel has tied talks on the second phase of the cease-fire to the return of all remaining hostage remains. Hamas argues the process requires time due to extensive destruction in Gaza.
Phase one of the agreement includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, along with plans for Gaza’s reconstruction and establishing a new governing structure without Hamas.
Despite the cease-fire, Israel has killed 211 Palestinians and injured 597 others since Oct. 10, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel has killed more than 68,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 170,600 others in Gaza since October 2023, health authorities there say.
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