A Palestinian youth carries buckets of water, filled at a water collection point in a camp for displaced people in the Nuseirat refugee camp, located in the central Gaza Strip. AFP
The October 10 ceasefire in the two-year-long Israeli war, brokered by US President Donald Trump, has been sorely tested by continued Israeli strikes.
In a bid to drive forward reconstruction efforts, Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan invited his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia to Istanbul for talks to start around 2:00 pm (1100 GMT).
All of them were called to a meeting with Trump in late September on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, just days before he unveiled his plan to end the fighting in Gaza.
Turkish foreign ministry sources say Ankara will press them to support plans for Palestinians to take control of the coastal territory's security and governance.
At the weekend, Fidan welcomed a Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya, the Palestinian movement's lead negotiator.
"We must end the massacre in Gaza. A ceasefire in itself is not enough," Fidan said, stressing that "Gaza should be governed by the Palestinians."
Earlier on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Hamas appeared committed to the truce, pointing the finger of blame at Israel.
"It seems Hamas is quite determined to adhere to the agreement while Israel's record is very poor," he told an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) gathering in Istanbul, saying Muslim states should play "a leading role" in Gaza's recovery.
"We believe the reconstruction plan prepared by the Arab League and the OIC should be implemented immediately," he said of the plan unveiled in March.
Fidan is expected to repeat calls for Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, where aid agencies have complained their convoys still do not have enough access to alleviate the famine conditions in parts of the territory.
Under Trump's plan, that stabilisation mission is meant to take over in the wake of the Israeli army's withdrawal from the Palestinian territory.
A Turkish disaster relief team, sent to help efforts to recover the many bodies buried under Gaza's rubble -- including those of Israeli captives seized by Hamas -- has likewise been stuck at the border because of the Israeli government's refusal to let them in, according to Ankara.
Short link: