WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Four mediators of the recently-reached Gaza ceasefire deal on Monday jointly called for resolving future disputes in the Middle East through diplomatic engagement and negotiation, according to a joint statement issued by the White House.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, signed a document to support the Gaza ceasefire deal at a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, earlier on Monday.

"We hereby commit to the resolution of future disputes through diplomatic engagement and negotiation rather than through force or protracted conflict," they said in the statement.

"We acknowledge that the Middle East cannot endure a persistent cycle of prolonged warfare, stalled negotiations, or the fragmentary, incomplete, or selective application of successfully negotiated terms," the statement read.

"We understand that lasting peace will be one in which both Palestinians and Israelis can prosper with their fundamental human rights protected, their security guaranteed, and their dignity upheld," it continued.

The summit, co-chaired by Egypt and the United States, was attended by leaders from more than 20 countries as well as regional and international organizations, though without the presence of either Israel or Hamas.

At the summit, El-Sisi reiterated support for the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire plan, stressing that the agreement must be "solidified and all its phases implemented, leading to the realization of the two-state solution."

The first phase of the plan includes Israeli troop withdrawals from Gaza City, Rafah, Khan Younis, and the north, the exchange of hostages and prisoners, and the opening of five crossings for aid into Gaza.

Hamas announced earlier on Monday that it had handed over all 20 remaining living hostages, who were captured during the attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have begun releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the exchange deal.

More than two years of Israeli military operations have devastated Gaza, killing over 67,000 people and triggering famine, according to Gaza's health authorities and UN-backed food experts. ■