The negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire deal are still ongoing, but Qatar cannot offer any timeline on an agreement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
Majed Al-Ansari, spokesman of the ministry said at a media briefing that regardless of the comings and goings of negotiating parties, the meetings are still ongoing in Qatari capital Doha. He denied the allegations that one of the teams had pulled out of the negotiations.
Qatar, as a mediator in the Gaza conflict, will continue to cooperate with regional and international partners to push forward the talks, he said.
Al-Ansari said Qatar welcomes the resolution that the UN Security Council adopted on Monday. Resolution 2728 demands an immediate cease-fire in Gaza for Ramadan, as a stopgap paving way for a sustainable cease-fire. The resolution also demands the release of all hostages.
“We welcome such a move because we welcome any international diplomatic initiative, whether it be regional or international, in support of ending this terrible conflict. And that is certainly coming from the Security Council. And such language is very helpful. And we hope that this momentum would continue and that we can build down this decision to expedite the end of this war,” said the spokesman.
He also said that Qatar cannot offer any timeline, but remains optimistic over the current situation of the talks.
“The talks are ongoing, the efforts are ongoing and that in its own right is a good thing certainly. As I said, I don’t have any update over the timelines of how we can gauge optimism over the current situation but we remain hopeful,” Al-Ansari said.
The Times of Israel quoted an Israeli official as saying the Israeli government on Tuesday recalled its negotiating team from Qatar after Hamas rejected its latest offer in talks on a hostage deal and truce.
The Israeli government believes that this round of negotiations with Hamas has reached a dead end, but does not expressly state that it would completely pull out of the negotiations, according to the report.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement earlier on Tuesday that Hamas’ refusal to accept a U.S.-brokered compromise strongly indicates that it is not interested in continuing the talks.
Hamas has so far not responded.
With mediation efforts from Qatar and Egypt, the new truce talks regarding a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas started on March 18 in Doha amid international warnings that Palestinians in Gaza are on the brink of famine.
Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage in southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage.
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza from ongoing Israeli attacks has risen to 32,414 and 74,787 others have been injured, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
(Reuters)