Negotiations on International Stabilisation Force in Gaza are underway, Turkish FM says
Turkish top diplomat Hakan Fidan stressed mediation efforts in Gaza, Syria and Ukraine as international partners work toward lasting peace and reduced tensions.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday that talks over the International Stabilisation Force in Gaza are still ongoing, focusing on its mandate and rules of engagement.
Fidan said there is a “big question” over the formation of the force, adding that it is unclear which countries will join, what the command structure will look like, and what its “first mission” will be.
“Thousands of details, questions are in place,” Fidan said. "I think once we deploy ISF, the rest will come.”
He stressed that the force’s main goal should be to separate Israeli and Palestinian forces along the tense border, reducing the risk of further clashes.
Türkiye is one of the guarantors of the ceasefire deal, but Israel, which has rocky relations with Ankara due to Tel Aviv’s war on Gaza, has objected to Turkish security forces’ participation in the force.
“In Gaza, Ukraine, and thanks God things are going quite well in Syria,” Fidan said, adding that current mediation efforts, including those supported by US President Donald Trump, “largely overlap with Türkiye’s objectives and interests.”
Speaking at the Doha Forum 2025 in Qatar, Fidan highlighted Türkiye’s role in hosting Syrian refugees and called for coordinated international efforts to stabilise Syria.
Fidan recalled Türkiye’s open-door policy when the Syrian conflict erupted, allowing large numbers of Syrians to reach Turkish borders, saying the approach was driven by humanitarian aims.
Israel’s ‘full withdrawal’
Separately, the mediator Qatar's prime minister described the Gaza negotiations as being at a “critical” moment, urging immediate progress.
The nearly two-month-old ceasefire deal in Gaza will not be complete until Israeli troops withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territory, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Doha Forum.
"Now we are at the critical moment... We cannot consider it yet a ceasefire, a ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of the Israeli forces, (and) there is stability back in Gaza," Al Thani noted
International Stabilisation Force
The UN Security Council endorsed the US-backed Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict and authorised a temporary International Stabilisation Force.
The resolution [2803-2025] allows the Board of Peace and participating Member States to create operational entities under transitional authority.
As stability is established, Israeli forces will withdraw, with a security perimeter remaining until Gaza is secure.
The Board’s mandate extends until end-2027 with biannual progress reports.