Israel-Gaza war: ceasefire talks at ‘stalemate’ after Rafah operation, which also halted aid, Qatar PM says
- Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed said the fundamental difference between the two parties was over the release of hostages and ending the war
- Sheikh Mohammed, whose country has mediated heavily between Hamas and Israel throughout the conflict, said Qatar would keep working to resolve the situation
Talks over a ceasefire in Gaza have reached a stalemate due to Israel’s operations in the southern border city of Rafah, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Tuesday.
Israeli operations in Rafah, which started this month, have closed a main crossing point for aid from the border with Egypt, a move humanitarian groups say has worsened an already dire situation.
“Especially in the past few weeks, we have seen some momentum building but unfortunately, things didn’t move in the right direction and right now we are in a status of almost a stalemate. Of course, what happened with Rafah sent us backward,” Sheikh Mohammed said at an economic forum in Doha.
Israeli tanks forged deeper into eastern Rafah, reaching some residential districts, on Tuesday, stepping up an offensive in the city where more than a million people had been sheltering after being displaced in seven months of war.
Sheikh Mohammed, whose country has mediated heavily between Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel throughout the seven-month conflict, said Qatar would keep working to resolve the situation.
“We make it very clear for everyone: our job is limited to our mediation,” he said. “That’s what we will do, that what we will continue to do.”