Qatar has announced that some progress has been made in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza and that it continues its mediation efforts to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas.
The Gulf state, along with Egypt and the United States, has been involved in months of truce talks, focusing on a captive-prisoner exchange and providing desperately needed humanitarian assistance to war-battered Gaza. “There was progress to an extent in the situation. We have continued our efforts without interruption over the last few days,” said Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani at a news conference in Madrid with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.
“We continue our endeavours, and there have been successive meetings with the Hamas movement in a bid to bridge the gap between the two sides and reach an agreement to achieve a ceasefire and exchange hostages and prisoners,” he added.
Since the war began in early October, there has been no break in the fighting, except for a seven-day pause in November, which led to the release of more than 100 Israeli captives and 240 Palestinian prisoners.
The negotiations are based on a plan US President Joe Biden outlined on May 31, which calls for an Israeli withdrawal from “major population centres” in Gaza and a ceasefire for six weeks, potentially extendable if more time is needed to reach a permanent deal.
“Efforts are continuing, but so far, we have not reached a formula that we feel is the most appropriate and closest to what has been presented,” the Qatari prime minister noted.
“As soon as this is done, we will communicate with the Israeli side to try to bridge the gap and reach an agreement as quickly as possible,” he concluded.
