In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Qatari leader expressed his will find a political solution for the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has stressed the need to reach a ceasefire deal “as soon as possible”, amid ongoing efforts by the Gulf mediator to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas.
Al Jazeera first reported on the Qatari leader’s remarks on Thursday, which came during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan.
“We seek to end the war in Gaza through negotiations and to return the hostages as soon as possible,” the Qatari leader said, as quoted by Al Jazeera. “We hope to end the war and achieve the aspirations of the Palestinian people for an independent state.”
Sheikh Tamim reiterated that “it is unacceptable that there is no Palestinian state on the 1967 borders”.
President Putin echoed the Qatari leader, saying Russia is “convinced that the Palestinian issue can be resolved according to international references and the two-state solution.”
“We know that Qatar is making tremendous efforts to reach a settlement in Gaza, a ceasefire, and an exchange of hostages,” Putin said.
Qatar, which hosts a Hamas political office, has played a central role as mediator since the beginning of Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip on October 7.
Mediation efforts have stalled since the expiration of a week-long truce brokered by Qatar and Egypt last November, which resulted in the release of 109 Israeli captives held by Hamas.
The deal also saw the release of 240 Palestinians from Israeli prisons – some of whom have since been re-arrested by Israeli forces.
Israel’s brutal onslaught has neared its nine-month mark, with more than 38,000 people – mostly women and children – killed, and at least 87,266 others wounded.
The war, coupled with a complete Israeli blockade, has pushed the coastal enclave into a dire humanitarian crisis, with alarming levels of starvation on the rise.
The war displaced at least 1.9 million people out of the Gaza Strip’s population of 2.1 million – down from the United Nations’ initial estimate of 2.3 million, following the deaths and exodus of people.
On Wednesday, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, conveyed to mediators Qatar and Egypt the movement’s latest “ideas” aimed at reaching an agreement that would halt Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.
Haniyeh also presented the latest proposal to Turkiye, which has been holding regular discussions with the Palestinian movement’s officials over the developments in the besieged enclave.
In a statement, Hamas said it “dealt in a positive spirit with the content of the ongoing deliberations”.
The office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Mossad then confirmed receiving the latest amendments from Hamas through the mediators.
