Qatar has been playing a crucial mediating role between Israel and Hamas since the beginning of the war in Gaza last October.
Qatar has expressed hope that all parties will engage positively with the Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by United States President Joe Biden.
In a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stressed that the mediation is working to achieve a permanent ceasefire that puts an end to the nearly eight-month old war, widely described as a genocide against the Palestinian people.
Qatar has been playing a crucial mediating role between Israel and Hamas since the beginning of the war in Gaza in hopes of reaching a ceasefire and captives’ release deal.
On Friday, Biden said that the three-phase deal would end the deadly aggression on the Strip and secure the release of captives held in Gaza.
The proposed ceasefire includes the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from all populated areas in Gaza; the release of Israeli captives including women, the elderly, and the wounded in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners; and the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave.
In a joint statement on Saturday, Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S. called on Israel and Hamas to finalise an agreement regarding the principles outlined by Washington for a lasting ceasefire.
The deal “serves multiple interests and will bring immediate relief both to the long-suffering people of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families,” the joint statement said.
The agreement also “offers a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire and ending the crisis”.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office re-stated his intention to continue the deadly onslaught in the Gaza Strip until all of the occupation’s war goals are attained.
Since October 7, Israel has rejected nine ceasefire deals.
Last year, Qatar and Egypt’s mediation led to a week-long truce in Gaza that resulted in the release of 109 captives in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
The ongoing Israeli onslaught in the Gaza Strip has resulted in the killing of at least 36,379 Palestinians, mostly women and children, with thousands more unaccounted for as they remain trapped under the rubble.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, more than 82,000 people have also been injured.
In a related development, Iran and Qatar discussed regional and international efforts to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.
In a phone call with Qatar’s prime minister on Friday, Iran’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani emphasised the need for greater cooperation among Muslim nations to defend Palestinians and acknowledged Qatar’s efforts to provide humanitarian aid and to halt the Israeli military aggression.
Both officials discussed the potential for an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to address the situation in Rafah and other areas affected by the genocidal war.
