Mediation efforts have stalled since last December’s week-long truce expired, with Israel intensifying its war on Gaza and expanding attacks to the West Bank and Lebanon.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has revealed that there have been no discussions in the past “three to four weeks” regarding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a captives release deal.

The top Qatari official’s remarks came at a concluding press conference at the first EU-GCC Summit in Brussels on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately we’ve seen the efforts being hindered in the past few weeks. Basically, in the last three to four weeks, there is no conversation or engagement at all. We are just moving in the same circle with the silence from all parties,” Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the country’s foreign minister, said.

“What has happened to Lebanon has added to that complication,” he noted, referring to the Israeli aggression on the country.

Qatar has been playing a central role alongside Egypt in mediating between Israel and Hamas in an effort to reach a ceasefire and a captives release deal.

Last November, these efforts successfully led to a week-long truce, resulting in the release of 109 Israeli captives held by Hamas in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners, predominantly women and children.

However, mediation efforts have stalled since the truce deal expired last December, with Israel intensifying the war on the Gaza Strip while expanding its attacks to the West Bank and in neighbouring Lebanon. 

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 42,400 people in the Gaza Strip, according to the latest figures by the local health authority. The actual death toll is believed to be an undercount of the actual figure with thousands missing and buried under the rubble.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, Israel has killed at least 2,367 people since October 8, 2023, while displacing more than one million people as it continues to bombard different parts of the country.