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Israeli military’s Rafah offensive set talks over Gaza ceasefire ‘backward’: Qatar PM

Tuesday, 14 May 2024 11:20 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 14 May 2024 2:52 PM ]

An Israeli tank holds a position as smoke rises in Gaza, near the border between the besieged coastal sliver and the Israeli-occupied territories, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, on May 13, 2024. (Photo by Reuters)

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani says indirect negotiations between the Palestinian resistance group Hamas and Israel over a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of captives have hit a snag due to the regime’s aggression in the southern border city of Rafah.

“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 on Tuesday.

He noted that his Persian Gulf country would keep working to resolve the stalemate.

“We make it very clear for everyone: our job is limited to our mediation,” Sheikh Mohammed said. “That's what we will do, that what we will continue to do."

He pointed out that the fundamental difference between the two parties was over the release of captives and ending the seven-month Gaza conflict.

“There is one party that wants to end the war and then talk about the hostages and there is another party who wants the hostages and wants to continue the war. As long as there is not any commonality between those two things it won't get us to a result,” the Qatari prime minister said.

Negotiations over a potential ceasefire in the Gaza war come amid signs that Israel is preparing for a full-scale assault on Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than a million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge.

US admits Israeli assault on Rafah wouldn't eliminate Hamas

Antony Blinken also says Israel lacked a "credible plan" to protect some 1.4 million Palestinian civilians in Rafah.

Israel believes thousands of Hamas fighters are inside the city, along with potentially dozens of captives.

Such an incursion would put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk and be a huge blow to the aid operations of the entire territory, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Friday.

Israel launched its atrocious onslaught against the Gaza Strip, targeting hospitals, residences, and houses of worship since Palestinian resistance movements launched a surprise attack, dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm, against the usurping regime on October 7.

At least 35,173 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, and another 79,061 individuals have sustained injuries. More than 1.7 million people have been internally displaced during the war as well.

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