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Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, has called for the urgent deployment of an international stabilisation force along Gaza’s so-called “yellow line” to oversee and verify compliance with the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Speaking at the Doha Forum 2025, Abdelatty said an international presence was necessary because Israel continues to commit daily violations of the truce while accusing the other side of breaches.
He explained that Egypt supports a peacekeeping mission rather than a peace-enforcing operation, stressing that the priority must be to secure the ceasefire before any further political steps can be taken.
He noted that the ceasefire must be firmly established to proceed to the second phase of the US-backed peace framework.
Abdelatty said Palestinians must govern their own affairs, insisting that Gaza and the West Bank remain indivisible parts of a future independent Palestinian state until the Palestinian Authority is fully restored in Gaza.
“There can be no lasting security or stability for Israel or for the region without a Palestinian state,” he said, adding that any alternative would amount to temporary arrangements that would eventually fail.
The minister also confirmed that Egypt has kept the Rafah crossing open continuously from its side, while Israel continues to restrict access on the Gaza side.
He stressed that Egypt would not allow the crossing to be used for forced displacement. Only those requiring urgent medical treatment outside Gaza would be allowed to leave, he said.
Abdelatty urged the international community to scale up humanitarian and medical assistance dramatically and to fast-track plans for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction, warning that worsening winter conditions had intensified suffering amid a shortage of shelter and basic services.
He said violence in the occupied West Bank had reached alarming levels, describing the situation there as even more severe than in Gaza due to frequent settler attacks aimed at intimidating civilians and forcing displacement.
He added that restoring the Palestinian Authority in Gaza was vital to preserving political unity between Gaza and the West Bank.
Under UN Resolution 2803, an international stabilisation force, known as the Board of Peace, was established alongside a temporary administrative body to oversee the ceasefire and support new governance structures in Gaza.
According to Gaza’s health authorities, Israeli military operations have killed more than 70,000 people since October 2023, most of them women and children, while nearly 171,000 have been wounded.
Gaza officials also report that hundreds of ceasefire violations have occurred since the agreement took effect on October 10, with at least 366 Palestinians killed during that period.
The first stage of the deal includes the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. It outlines preparations for Gaza’s rebuilding alongside the creation of a new political structure excluding Hamas.
