Qatar Banks Allegations Of Resigning To Mediator Of Ceasefire In Gaza

Gazans, Palestinians, food crisis amid threats of Israeli military aggression are queuing for food aid. (UNRWA-Ashraf Amra)

JAKARTA - Qatar dismissed media reports calling it a mediator in negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

"A media report that said Qatar was stepping down as a mediator for ceasefire negotiations in Gaza is inaccurate," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Majed bin Mohammed Al-Ansari said in a statement, quoted from AA, Sunday, November 10.

He added that Qatar had notified the parties 10 days ago in its latest efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

Qatar also stated that mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel would stall if an agreement was not reached in that round.

The statement said Doha "will continue efforts with partners when the parties show their desire and seriousness to end the brutal war and the suffering of civilians who continue to suffer."

The spokesman for the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Doha "will not accept that mediation is the reason for extortion."

According to him, since the ceasefire in early November, there have been manipulative tactics, including reneging on obligations agreed through mediation, and exploiting negotiations to justify the continuation of the war to serve "small political objectives."

Al Ansari also called the report on the closure of the Hamas political office in Doha "inaccurate," and said its main goal was to become a "communication channel" between related parties, and the channel had contributed to efforts to reach an early ceasefire.

He stressed the need for media to obtain information from official sources.

International media previously stated Qatar would stop mediating the Gaza ceasefire deal and the release of hostages until Hamas and Israel were willing to continue negotiations, and had informed their Hamas leaders were no longer welcomed in the Gulf nation.

The last trip of the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a week to the Middle East which ended at the end of October did not leave any breakthroughs.

Israel's Genocide in the Gaza Strip began after Palestinian independence fighters Hamas carried out cross-border attacks on October 7, 2023.

As a result of the attack, the Zionist regime claimed about 1,200 of its citizens were killed, and about 250 others were held hostage.

Israel has since continuously attacked Gaza and its genocide campaign has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians.

The Gulf state, Qatar, has teamed up with the US and Egypt to end the war and repatriate the hostages.