Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Doha will work with Biden’s administration “until the last minute” before U.S. election to reach Gaza truce deal.
Qatar has announced that there was progress in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha, which included representatives from the United States and Israel, following almost a year of stalemate.
Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari provided the latest developments of this week’s round of negotiations.
“It is not possible to talk about the content of what happened at the negotiations in Doha [but] progress has been made and contacts are still ongoing,” he said, as cited by Al Araby TV.
Israel’s intelligence chief, David Barnea, returned from the recent talks in Doha where he also met with CIA chief William Burns, as confirmed by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday evening.
Netanyahu’s office said Barnea briefed him on the talks, where “the sides discussed a new unified framework that integrates previous proposals and also takes into account the main issues and recent developments in the region”.
“The discussions between the mediators and Hamas will continue in the coming days in order to evaluate the feasibility of talks and the continued effort to advance a deal,” Netanyahu’s office said.
The talks came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the region last week in what marked his 11th such tour since the beginning of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
Blinken’s tour, which included Qatar, hoped to secure a breakthrough ahead of the U.S. presidential election in the stalled negotiations following past failed attempts to secure a deal.
Speaking to the press, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said that the Gulf state will work with Joe Biden’s administration “until the last minute” before the election to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal.
“We don’t foresee any negative result of the elections on the mediation process itself. We believe that we are dealing with institutions, and in a country like the United States, the institutions are invested in finding a resolution to this crisis,” Al Ansari said.
The Biden administration has backed Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip while failing to hold it to account, despite the global and domestic outrage towards Washington’s role in funding and supporting the Israeli army.
Since the beginning of the war, Israel has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, although the figure provided by Palestinian authorities is believed to be an undercount as thousands remain missing or buried under the rubble.
In Lebanon, Israel has intensified its brutal aggression, which was triggered by the war on the Gaza Strip. Since October 8, 2023, Israel has killed at least 2,710 people in Lebanon, according to the latest government figures.
