Qatar‘s prime minister, addressing the challenging circumstances of Israeli bombardment, highlighted on Sunday the steadfast continuation of mediation efforts aiming to establish a new Gaza ceasefire and release more hostages held by Hamas, despite the diminishing time for a successful resolution.
‘Our efforts as the state of Qatar along with our partners are continuing. We are not going to give up,’ Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Doha Forum, adding that ‘the continuation of the bombardment is just narrowing this window for us’.
According to the health ministry controlled by Hamas, the Israeli offensive in Gaza has resulted in a death toll of at least 17,700 people, with a notable impact on women and children.
At the forefront of mediation efforts, Qatar played a vital role in negotiating a seven-day truce. During this timeframe, a significant number of Israeli hostages were swapped for Palestinian prisoners, and humanitarian aid was distributed. Unfortunately, the truce concluded at the start of the month.
‘We are going to continue, we are committed to have hostages released, but we are also committed to stop the war,’ Qatar’s prime minister said.
But, he added, ‘we are not seeing the same willingness from both parties’.
Addressing the Doha Forum earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Security Council was ‘paralysed by geostrategic divisions’ that were undermining solutions to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
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The body’s ‘authority and credibility were severely undermined’ by its delayed response to the war, he said two days after a US veto prevented a resolution calling for a Gaza ceasefire.
‘I reiterated my appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared,’ he told the forum.
Israel declared war on Hamas after the militant group’s unprecedented attack on October 7, resulting in 1,200 casualties and 240 hostages, as reported by Israeli figures.
‘Regrettably, the Security Council failed to do it,’ he added
‘I can promise, I will not give up.’
Guterres, in response to two months of warfare in Gaza, convened an emergency session of the UN Security Council.
The rarely-used Article 99 of the United Nations Charter was deployed as he exercised the secretary-general’s authority to bring to the council’s attention ‘any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.’
The rule had not been invoked by a UN chief in decades.
‘We are facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system,’ Guterres told the Doha Forum.
‘The situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region.’