ISTANBUL – Qatar said Tuesday that mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire and a hostage swap deal between Israel and Hamas were still ongoing, Anadolu Agency reported.
“We are engaged in serious negotiations and discussions between the two sides of the crisis in Gaza,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a press conference in Doha.
“Mediation efforts between the Palestinians and Israel are still ongoing and will not stop, regardless of the circumstances on the ground,” he added.
The spokesman accused some parties of trying to damage Qatar’s reputation but did not provide specific details.
“This will not deter us from our role as long as there is an opportunity to achieve peace,” he added.
“The war will do nothing but more losses,” al-Ansari said, adding that Doha is in contact with the United States to seek a halt to the Israeli war and and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 25,490 Palestinians and injuring 63,354.
The Israeli onslaught has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations. – January 23, 2024