Negotiations for a lasting ceasefire agreement for Gaza are at a "critical moment", the prime minister of Qatar, which played a key role in brokering the deal, has announced.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman said a final ceasefire could only happen with a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the besieged enclave.
It is known that the first phase of a ceasefire agreement was reached in October, but the violence in Gaza has not stopped.
On Saturday alone, seven people were reportedly killed.
Local Palestinian health authorities said the victims were from Beit Lahiya, Jabalia and Zeitoun in northern Gaza and included a 70-year-old woman who was killed by a drone strike.
The long-awaited ceasefire - and the second after a first agreement collapsed earlier this year - began on October 11 after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan.
Despite accusations from both sides of violations, talks on the next phase of the ceasefire agreement began almost two weeks ago, with Turkish, Qatari and Egyptian officials meeting in Cairo to discuss the second part of the agreement, including the deployment of a force and stabilization body to govern Gaza and oversee reconstruction.
Since the ceasefire began, Hamas has returned all 20 live hostages and 27 bodies in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners. /Telegraph/
