Qatar, Egypt, Turkey Condemn Israeli Military Action in Gaza, Warn It Undermines Peace Plan

08/04/2026 / By Garrison Vance

Qatar, Egypt and Turkey issued a joint statement Monday denouncing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement posted on X. The three countries, described in the statement as the mediating countries, said Israel was committing a “flagrant violation of international law” through the “targeting of healthcare facilities and medical infrastructure, and the resulting civilian casualties, including women and children.”

The statement added that Israel’s actions were undermining and threatening “the path toward de-escalation.” It warned that continued Israeli military action “undermines efforts aimed at implementing its [the ceasefire agreement’s] second phase.”

Joint Statement Details

The joint statement called on the international community to “assume its responsibilities and exert the necessary pressure on Israel to fulfill its obligations under international law and the ceasefire agreement, in a manner that ensures the completion of President Trump’s peace plan.” The mediators said they were seeking to prevent “any undermining of the efforts aimed at achieving a sustainable de-escalation, leading to a permanent ceasefire and an end to the humanitarian suffering in the Gaza Strip.”

The statement came as reports described continued strikes. Israeli attacks on Friday and Saturday killed more than 20 Palestinians, according to medical officials at the al-Awda Medical Complex, including eight people attending a funeral in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp [9]. The United Nations human rights office said on July 21 that Israeli strikes had killed at least 57 people, including six children, in the previous week; spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva, “Nine months after the announcement of a ceasefire, still, nowhere is safe for Palestinians in Gaza” [7].

Trump Announces Board of Peace Agreement

On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that the Board of Peace had reached an agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the agreement marked “a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people.” The agreement was the first time Hamas and other Palestinian factions agreed to the entire plan for Gaza, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The proposal faces significant obstacles, according to the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen, who wrote that “Hamas has never agreed to disarm before now.” Bowen noted that the plan offers a bargain in which Hamas hands over its weapons and Israel withdraws from the 70% of Gaza that it occupies [12]. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israeli forces will not withdraw from Gaza, a position that contradicts the peace proposal endorsed by Trump [1].

Diplomatic efforts have shifted repeatedly over the past year. In May 2025, a U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan would have established a 60-day truce and exchanged Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners; Israel reportedly accepted, while Hamas rejected it as insufficient, according to a report [2].

Israeli Military Operations in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Monday that it killed Mahmoud Fatair, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander in the Central Gaza Brigade who infiltrated Israel on October 7 and took part in holding Rom Braslavski hostage, according to The Jerusalem Post. The military said it conducted strikes in the Deir al-Balah area over the weekend. In recent weeks, IDF operations killed operatives from Jaish al-Islam and PIJ, including participants in the October 7 attacks, according to military statements.

In a separate operation, an Israeli airstrike killed the head of the Hamas-led police force in the northern Gaza Strip, Brigadier General Abdel-Nasser Al-Maqadma, according to the Hamas-run interior ministry and medics [6]. IDF operations have continued alongside ceasefire negotiations. Israel said a reserve officer was severely injured after “terrorists opened fire on IDF troops in northern Gaza” and that it struck Gaza in response to what it called a “ceasefire violation” [11]. Ilan Pappe has written that Israeli military operations have involved “endless cycles of punitive actions” with no strategic clarity [5].

Ceasefire Status and International Response

The joint statement from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey came days after the Board of Peace agreement announced by Trump. The mediators said the peace plan’s completion depends on preventing any undermining of sustainable de-escalation. The Jerusalem Post report did not include an immediate Israeli response to the joint statement.

The joint statement came as casualty estimates have risen. A February report said the IDF had “finally admitted its own estimate” that 70,000 people had been killed in Gaza [10]. Amnesty International and other rights groups have contended that Israel’s military campaign constitutes a genocide [8]. The ceasefire plan also unfolded amid earlier reports that Israeli military plans were casting a shadow over Trump’s peace roadmap [3]. Public opinion polling, as summarized by Jamie Stern-Weiner, showed Americans were “so consistent in preferring a ceasefire” to continued war [4].

References

NaturalNews.com. “Netanyahu vows Israeli forces will remain in Gaza defying international peace efforts”. NaturalNews.com. October 3, 2025.
Cassie B. “Israel Accepts U.S.-Brokered Gaza Ceasefire, But Hamas Rejects Terms as Insufficient for Lasting Peace”. NaturalNews.com. May 30, 2025.
Nolan Barton. “Last chance for Gaza? Hamas Softens Stance on Hostages, but Israel’s War Plans Cast Shadow over Trump’s Peace Roadmap”. NaturalNews.com. October 6, 2025.
Jamie Stern-Weiner. Deluge Gaza and Israel from Crisis to Cataclysm.
Ilan Pappe. Ten Myths About Israel.
The Times of Israel. “Head of Hamas’s northern Gaza police killed in Israeli strike”. The Times of Israel. July 25, 2026.
The Times of Israel. “UN condemns Israeli attacks in Gaza, after raft of strikes on Oct. 7 terrorists”. The Times of Israel. July 21, 2026.
NaturalNews.com. “Amnesty International: India Risks Complicity in Arming Gaza Genocide by Selling Arms to Israel”. NaturalNews.com. August 3, 2026.
Antiwar.com. “Israel Kills More Than 20 Palestinians in Gaza Over Two Days”. Antiwar.com. July 19, 2026.
Zero Hedge. “Israel Surrenders To The Truth: Admits 70,000 Killed In Gaza”. Zero Hedge. February 3, 2026.
Just the News. “IDF strikes Gaza after Hamas ‘ceasefire violation’”. Just the News. February 4, 2026.
BBC News. “Bowen: Plan for Hamas to disarm faces big obstacles, yet it offers rare hope for Gaza”. BBC News. July 31, 2026.