Overview
- Foreign ministers from Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and the UAE issued a joint statement rejecting any displacement of Palestinians and insisting Rafah remain open in both directions under the ceasefire plan and UNSCR 2803.
- Israel’s COGAT said Rafah would open in the coming days only for Gaza residents to exit to Egypt, a move Egypt and other regional governments opposed as a breach of the plan’s provisions on two-way access.
- U.S. officials and diplomats say an announcement before year-end is expected for Phase Two — a Board of Peace chaired by President Trump, an International Stabilization Force, and a Palestinian technocratic administration — with troop deployment discussions pointing to early 2026.
- Mediator-sourced reports describe initial steps to seize Hamas heavy weapons and signal Hamas readiness to relinquish governance, though the Associated Press notes disarmament terms are not yet agreed and a Hamas-linked account casts international troops as ceasefire monitors.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres called Israel’s conduct in Gaza “fundamentally wrong” and said there are strong reasons to believe war crimes may have been committed, as watchdogs continue to report frequent ceasefire violations and new civilian casualties.