Meeting between Salam and Sharaa in Doha; Qatar says negotiations on Gaza war are at 'critical moment' | LIVE

The Israeli army killed at least seven Palestinians this Saturday in the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources cited by Al Jazeera.

The victims were shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the localities of Beit Lahiya, Jabalia, and in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, according to local health authorities.

Among them, a 70-year-old woman died from injuries sustained during a drone strike near the “yellow line,” which marks the territory that remained under Israeli army control under the ceasefire agreement.

For its part, the Israeli army acknowledged in a statement that it had shot three people after opening fire on a group of individuals “who had crossed the yellow line.”

“It is the killers who label others as terrorists,” Sharaa declares to applause in Doha

In another excerpt from his speech, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa rejected what he called “politicized” attempts to portray him as a “terrorist.”

“What is the definition of terrorism or a terrorist? We’ve been hearing this word for twenty-five years, but there is a lot of confusion in understanding what a terrorist really is,” he said, before giving his own definition: “A person who kills innocents, children, and women, and resorts to illegitimate means to harm populations.”

“If we try to apply this description to several countries in the world, we see that in terms of the number of victims in Gaza, most are innocents,” he continued, met with strong applause from the audience.

“On a personal level, I have never harmed a civilian. I have fought on multiple fronts and have fought for over twenty years, with honor,” he added. “People now know that this description is not correct; that is why I am no longer listed as a terrorist by the [UN] Security Council,” referring to his removal from the list last month just before his visit to Washington.

He added: “The Assad regime, during fourteen years of war, killed more than a million people, while many others disappeared. … We have freed all the prisons, yet we still know nothing about these disappeared, and yet the officials are not labeled terrorists, nor has this regime ever been called a terrorist.”

“We have seen wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and all the people killed were innocents. It is the killers who label others as terrorists. I think that after twenty-five years, people now better understand who a true terrorist is and who deserves to be called a terrorist,” he insisted, again receiving applause.

Gaza: Qatari and Egyptian mediators call to move forward with the peace plan

Qatar and Egypt, among the mediators and guarantors of the cease-fire in Gaza, have called for the “total withdrawal” of Israeli troops from Palestinian territory and the rapid deployment of an international stabilization force to consolidate the fragile truce, AFP reports.

These measures are planned in the second phase of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war, triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“We are at a critical moment … We cannot yet consider that there is a ceasefire; a ceasefire can only be complete with the total withdrawal of Israeli forces and a return of stability to Gaza,” said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at a conference in Doha on Saturday.

“At this moment, we … Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, together with the United States, are meeting to advance the next phase,” he noted. “And this next phase is also temporary from our point of view,” pending a “lasting solution.”

The second stage of the plan, which has not yet been approved, also includes the disarmament of Hamas, the establishment of a transitional authority, and the deployment of an international stabilization force.

Salam invites Bill Gates to Beirut

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met on Saturday with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, and invited him to visit Lebanon. The two figures agreed to speak again next January regarding the possibility of the American businessman and philanthropist traveling to Beirut next year, according to MTV.

Sharaa assures his government “is not like the old” regime

Syrian President Ahmad el-Chareh at the Doha Forum on Dec. 6, 2025. Photo by Laure-Maïssa Farjallah

Speaking at the Doha Forum, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa stated that “the new regime is not like the old one” and that his government “is working to hold accountable those who committed acts we condemn,” our on-site reporter Laure-Maïssa Farjallah reported.

This statement comes nearly a year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, as Syria experiences a new wave of intercommunal violence.

“Yes, there were atrocities on the coast and in the south. We do not accept what happened. But the law prevails in Syria. We are strengthening the rule of law and the role of institutions,” he added.

Ahmad al-Sharaa also said that he “disagrees with the claim that all Alawites supported the regime. In fact, they were all victims.”

He finally stated that “public services have improved in the country,” that the Syrian government has attracted investments, and continues to call on the U.S. to lift the Caesar Act sanctions. “We are 95 percent of the way there,” he specified.

Egypt calls for rapid deployment of international force in Gaza

The head of Egyptian diplomacy, Badr Abdelatty, has called for the rapid deployment of the international stabilization force in the Gaza Strip, as planned under the U.S. peace plan endorsed by the UN, AFP reports.

“We need to deploy this force on the ground as soon as possible, because one party, which is Israel, violates the ceasefire every day,” said Mr. Abdelatty during a conference in Doha. He also reaffirmed that the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, whose reopening is foreseen under the truce agreement, would not be used “for the movement” of Gazans, but “only to deliver humanitarian and medical aid.”

Gaza Ministry of Health reports additional deaths amid ongoing conflict

The Gaza Ministry of Health announced in its latest statement that it had recorded 223 additional deaths, following the identification of victims previously killed during the war by a government committee.

The ministry also reported that six new bodies were transported to hospitals over the past 48 hours, including that of a person recently killed by the Israeli army, while the other five were victims whose remains were recovered from the rubble.

This brings the official toll of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israeli offensive on Oct. 7, 2023, to at least 70,354 dead and 171,030 injured. Among them, 367 people have been killed and 953 wounded since the cease-fire agreement came into effect on Oct. 10, the ministry said.

Merz calls on Palestinian Authority to implement reforms ahead of Israel trip

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to implement reforms in order to “play a role” in the post-war period in Gaza, during a phone call ahead of his visit to Israel, according to a spokesperson, AFP reports.

Merz praised the “cooperative attitude” of the Palestinian Authority toward US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, while calling on Abbas to carry out “urgently needed reforms” so that the organization “can play a constructive role in a post-conflict order,” said German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius.

Germany, one of Israel’s closest allies, has repeatedly criticized Israel’s aggressive war in the Gaza Strip. Berlin has also condemned the “massive increase in settler violence against Palestinian civilians” in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to the spokesperson.

Fourth Palestinian killed in Gaza by Israeli fire

The death toll from this morning’s Israeli attacks on the enclave has risen to at least four, according to Al Jazeera, which reports that another person was shot dead in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, in addition to the three others killed in Beit Lahia.

Israeli stun bombs and artillery fire were reported on the outskirts of Dhaira

An Israeli drone dropped a stun bomb over the town of Dhaira (Sour district). At the same time, Israeli artillery was firing bursts on the outskirts of the village, according to our correspondent.

At least three Palestinians killed this morning by Israeli fire in northern Gaza

In the shadow of the ongoing diplomatic summit in Doha, new Israeli attacks targeted several areas of the Gaza Strip this morning, despite the truce.

According to sources at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City quoted by Al Jazeera, at least three people were killed and several others wounded in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, by Israeli soldiers’ gunfire.

Local correspondents for the Qatari outlet specified that the incident occurred outside the Yellow Line, which marks the areas of the enclave under Israeli army control under the Trump plan, where daily demolition operations have been carried out by the troops.

Meanwhile, a source at al-Maqassed Hospital reported that another person was critically wounded during an Israeli bombardment of the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

According to the latest toll released Thursday by the enclave’s Ministry of Health, at least 366 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army since the cease-fire agreement came into effect on October 10, in addition to 938 wounded and 619 missing bodies recovered from the rubble.

This brings the total toll of the Israeli offensive against Gaza to at least 70,125 killed and 171,015 wounded since Oct. 7, 2023.

Israeli drone drops stun bomb over Odaisseh this morning

An Israeli drone dropped a stun bomb this morning over the town of Odaisseh, in the Marjayoun district, reports our southern Lebanon correspondent.

The previous evening, drones also dropped a sound bomb near the Naqoura shore (Sour district) and another toward a man riding a moped in the southern neighborhood of the town of Khiam (Marjayoun).

Finally, two explosions were heard this morning in the Baalbeck area. It turned out they were detonations carried out by the Lebanese Army in Taybeh, reports our Bekaa correspondent.

Friedrich Merz expected in Israel today

Friedrich Merz begins today his first official trip to Israel as chancellor, as part of a visit that will also take him to Jordan, according to several Israeli and German media outlets. A meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planned upon his arrival, according to the Federal Republic of Germany.

Mike Waltz expected in Jordan and Israel

The United States ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, is to travel to Jordan and Israel to advance humanitarian aid, regional security, as well as the UN Security Council resolution and President Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, according to a statement from his office. The visit starts today and will continue until Friday.

In Jordan, Waltz will meet King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. He will also meet humanitarian organizations to assess ongoing relief efforts and explore cooperation on regional security and the Syrian refugee crisis.

In Israel, Waltz will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, visit the northern and southern borders, go to the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Coordination and Monitoring Mechanism center in Kiryat Gat, and meet representatives of the UN Middle East Peace Process as well as humanitarian organizations to review aid efforts in Gaza.

Meeting between Salam and Sharaa in Doha

Photo posted on the Grand Serail’s X account

Both present in Qatar to attend the Doha Conference, the Lebanese Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa held a meeting on the sidelines of the event. According to a statement by Nawaf Salam shared on the Grand Serail’s X account, the meeting focused on ways to strengthen cooperation and develop bilateral relations between Lebanon and Syria.

A cease-fire can only be complete with the total withdrawal of Israeli forces, insists the Qatari Prime Minister

The main news this morning concerns the Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who said Saturday that negotiations on the Gaza war were at a “critical moment,” according to Reuters.

Mediators are working together to advance the next phase of the cease-fire, he said during a panel at the Doha Forum, which opened Saturday in Qatar. “We are at a critical moment … We cannot yet consider that there is a cease-fire. A cease-fire can only be complete with the total withdrawal of Israeli forces and the return of stability to Gaza,” the Qatari head of government stressed again.

The event is presented as a “global platform for dialogue that brings together leaders and policymakers to discuss major challenges facing the world,” organizers say.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also said at the Doha conference that negotiations on the stabilization force in Gaza are ongoing, particularly concerning its mandate and rules of engagement, and that its main goal should be to separate Israelis and Palestinians along the border.

An international body tasked with governing the Gaza Strip as part of the next phase of the US-negotiated cease-fire is expected to be announced by the end of the year, an Arab official and a Western diplomat told Associated Press on Friday. Under the cease-fire agreement, this authority — known as the Peace Council and chaired by US President Donald Trump — will oversee Gaza’s reconstruction under a two-year renewable UN mandate.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Middle Eastern news

We will be following in this live feed the situation in Lebanon, which Israel bombs almost daily, while the Lebanese Army continues the process of disarming militias, including Hezbollah, south of the Litani River.

We will also cover developments in Gaza, still bombed by Israel despite the cease-fire, as well as in the occupied West Bank, Syria, and other countries in the region.