US special envoy Steve Witkoff expressed gratitude to global leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for their key roles in negotiations that led to the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Speaking at a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Witkoff praised Arab and Muslim leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Qatari leadership, for their critical roles in securing the ceasefire deal.
The ceasefire, brokered with the mediation of Türkiye, Qatar, and Egypt, aims to stabilise the situation in Gaza and create space for further peace efforts.
Türkiye’s diplomatic efforts
The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Thursday welcomed the ceasefire, expressing hope that it “will bring an end to the genocide that has continued for the past two years.”
The ministry emphasised the urgent need to deliver humanitarian aid and begin reconstruction efforts in the war-torn enclave, pledging that Türkiye would continue to provide substantial humanitarian support.
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz also hailed the deal, calling it a “long-overdue but greatly welcomed development” and crediting President Erdogan’s diplomatic efforts for helping secure the truce.
Gaza Task Force
Türkiye’s National Defence Ministry said that the Turkish Armed Forces are ready to take on any mission assigned to them as part of the Gaza Task Force established under the ceasefire framework.
Spokesman Zeki Akturk stressed the truce should pave the way for a “just and lasting peace” and ultimately support the two-state solution.
The ceasefire was announced after US President Donald Trump revealed that Israel and Hamas had signed the first phase of a US-brokered 20-point peace plan, which includes a prisoner exchange, disarmament of Hamas, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
The truce follows nearly two years of Israeli military onslaught in the enclave, which have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left Gaza largely uninhabitable amid widespread famine and disease.
