QATAR – News that risks further slowing down negotiations that are already almost at a standstill. Qatar confirmed on Saturday November 9 that it had suspended its mediation between Israel and Hamas with a view to a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and a release of hostages. The Gulf country announced that negotiations would only resume when the different parties demonstrated ” serious “ in the negotiations, while Israeli bombardments continue to rage in the Gaza Strip.
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At the end of October, during the last phase of negotiations, “ Qatar has informed the parties that it intends to suspend its mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel if an agreement is not reached during this round.Qatar Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said in a statement. “Qatar will take them back when the parties demonstrate willingness and seriousness” to end hostilities, he added, while Hamas and Israel accuse each other of blocking any agreement.
The spokesperson also rejected reports from a diplomatic source who had suggested that Qatar might close the Hamas office in Doha. “The main objective of the office in Qatar is to be a channel of communication between the parties involved, and this channel helped achieve a ceasefire” previously, as in November 2023, he said.
The diplomatic source in question had previously claimed that the Qataris had “informed the Israelis and Hamas that as long as both sides refuse to negotiate an agreement in good faith, they cannot continue to play the role of mediator”. Ils “have informed the American administration that they would be ready to engage again in mediation when both parties (…) demonstrate a sincere desire to return to the negotiating table”she added.
A key player in the negotiations… without result
Along with the United States and Egypt, Qatar had participated for months in mediation efforts to end the devastating war in the Gaza Strip. But the only truce in this conflict emerged at the end of November 2023. It lasted a week and allowed the release of hostages kidnapped during the October 7 attack and taken to Gaza, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel . There are 97 hostages remaining in Gaza today, including 34 declared dead by the Israeli army.
Meanwhile, the war continues unabated in Gaza, where some 2.4 million residents are under siege and living in dire conditions according to the UN. On Saturday, November 9, 14 Palestinians died in Israeli strikes on sites housing displaced people in Gaza City and Khan Younes, according to Civil Defense. The Israeli offensive has already left 43,552 dead in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas Ministry of Health.
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