ISTANBUL

Türkiye will take part in a task force to monitor the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement on the ground, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday, addressing the opening ceremony of the 2025-2026 higher education academic year in Ankara.

Erdogan described urgent humanitarian aid, the exchange of hostages and prisoners, and an immediate halt to Israeli attacks as “of critical importance,” adding that Türkiye would work with the international community to support reconstruction efforts and help rebuild Gaza.

“Our aim is to halt the genocide in Gaza and bring peace to the region as quickly as possible,” the Turkish president said.

He stressed that “nobody in the world deserves peace, security, and stability more than the people of Gaza.”

The remarks came after a ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas early Thursday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, based on a 20-point plan presented by US President Donald Trump.

The first phase of the plan calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and prisoners, gradual Israeli withdrawal from an agreed upon line in Gaza, and the entry of humanitarian aid, along with international support for reconstruction.

The deal followed days of negotiations in the Red Sea city, with senior officials from Qatar, Türkiye, Egypt, and the US joining the delegations.

“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first phase of our Peace Plan,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “We thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Türkiye, who worked with us to make this historic and unprecedented event happen.”