Egypt, Qatar discuss efforts to stabilize Gaza ceasefire

CAIRO

Egypt and Qatar held talks on Wednesday to discuss efforts to stabilize a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel.

Discussions between Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Doha, the Qatari capital, came a day after the launch of a new round of negotiations there to implement phase two of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The two sides discussed bilateral ties and efforts to stabilize the ceasefire agreement and facilitate the exchange of hostages and detainees in Gaza, an Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement said.

The two sides stressed the need to intensify the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of Palestinians, it added.

The two officials also followed up on the outcomes of an extraordinary Arab summit on Gaza held in Cairo on March 4 and an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah last week.

Abdelatty and Sheikh Mohammed also discussed ways to activate and implement an Arab plan for Gaza reconstruction and necessary steps to secure the required funding, the ministry said.

The Arab summit and OIC meeting approved a comprehensive Arab plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing its Palestinian residents. The plan is expected to take five years to complete, with an estimated cost of around $53 billion.

The Arab proposal came after US President Donald Trump's plan to "take over" Gaza and resettle Palestinians to develop it into what he called the "Riviera of the Middle East." The idea was rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, saying it amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Some 50,000 people have been killed, mostly women and children, in a brutal Israeli war on Gaza since October 2023. The onslaught was paused under the ceasefire and prisoner swap deal, which took hold in January.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.