Qatar has suspended its key mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel, following growing frustration over the lack of progress on a ceasefire agreement for Gaza, it said on November 9.
It was not immediately clear whether the remaining Hamas leadership hosted by Qatar would have to leave or where it would go. Hamas has good relations with Iran and Türkiye and some of its leaders are now based in Lebanon.
However, according to an Egyptian official, the other key mediator, Qatar is highly likely to return to mediation efforts if both sides show “serious political will” to reach an agreement.
Qatar told Israel and Hamas that it could not continue to mediate “as long as they refuse to negotiate an agreement in good faith” and that “as a result, the Political Office of Hamas can no longer fulfill its purpose.” Does” in Qatar, said a diplomatic source briefed on the matter. Qatar told Hamas that if it is not ready to engage in serious talks then it will have to leave.
In Washington, a US official said the Biden administration informed Qatar two weeks ago that the continued operation of the Hamas office in Doha is no longer useful and that the Hamas delegation should be expelled.
A senior US official said that after Hamas rejected the last ceasefire proposal, Qatar accepted the advice and informed the Hamas delegation of the decision 10 days ago.
A senior Hamas official said they were aware of Qatar’s decision to suspend mediation efforts, “but no one asked us to leave.” Hamas has repeatedly called for an end to the war and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza as a condition of any ceasefire agreement. Israel wants the return of all hostages taken in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas and insists on a presence in Gaza.
The officials said this on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office did not comment.
Late Saturday evening the official… qatar news agency The published comments, quoting Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid bin Mohammed al-Ansari, confirm that Doha had informed the parties to talks 10 days ago that it would seek mediation between Hamas and Israel if no agreement was reached during that round. Will stop his efforts. ,
“Qatar will resume those efforts with its partners when the parties show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war and the ongoing suffering of civilians,” the report said.
There appears to be no end in sight to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, where Israel’s military said it has struck command centers and other terrorist infrastructure in Beirut’s southern suburbs and elsewhere. At least seven people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the southern port city of Tire late Friday, officials and a resident said.
“Hezbollah must continue (fighting) and we will continue to support them, even if we lose our families, our homes and end up in filth,” Beirut resident Mohammed Mekdad said as he searched the smoking debris.
At least 16 people were killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza on Saturday, Palestinian medical officials said, as Israel announced the first humanitarian aid delivery in weeks to the hungry, devastated north of the territory.
One attack hit a school-shelter site in the eastern Tufa neighborhood of Gaza City, killing at least six people, the territory’s health ministry said. It said the dead included two local journalists, a pregnant woman and a child. Israel’s military said the attack targeted a terrorist from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, but provided no evidence.
Another Israeli attack killed seven people, including two women and a child, in the southern town of Khan Yunis, according to Nasser Hospital. Israel’s military did not respond to a request for comment.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah said an Israeli strike targeted a tent in the courtyard of central Gaza’s main hospital, killing at least three people and wounding a local journalist. It was the eighth Israeli attack on the compound since March.
COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, said 11 aid trucks loaded with food, water and medical equipment arrived in the far north of the enclave on Thursday. This is the first time that any aid has reached there since Israel started a new military operation last month.
But according to the UN World Food Programme, not all the aid reached agreed drop-off points. WFP spokesperson Aliya Zaki said that in the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya, Israeli soldiers stopped a convoy heading to nearby Beit Lahiya and ordered supplies to be unloaded.
Israel’s offensive focuses on Jabaliya, where Israel says Hamas has regrouped. Other areas affected include Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, north of Gaza City.
The aid announcement comes days before a US deadline demanding that Israel improve aid delivery across Gaza or risk losing access to US arms funding. The US says Israel should allow at least 350 trucks a day carrying food and other supplies.
A report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, released on Thursday said there is a strong likelihood that famine is imminent in parts of northern Gaza, the most isolated area in the territory.
COGAT rejected those findings and said the report “relies on partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests.”
The United Nations estimates that thousands of people remain in northern Gaza. Earlier this week, the Health Ministry said there were no ambulances or emergency teams operating north of Gaza City.
According to UN figures, 90% of Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced due to the conflict.
Palestinian health officials say more than 43,000 people have been killed in more than a year of war in Gaza. They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.
The war began after Palestinian militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and abducting 250 others. About 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, about a third of whom are believed dead.
“It’s been 400 days and the hostages are still in Gaza. It is a directionless war. It’s very sad,” said Eyal Tiskim, who joined the latest protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to demand a ceasefire agreement.
published – November 10, 2024 08:15 am IST
