Qatar reaffirmed on Monday that it continues to play a mediating role between Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement that leads to a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners.
In parallel, a senior Qatari official pointed to a lack of political will to reach a deal in light of the continuing military operations.
At the opening of the Global Security Forum in Doha on Monday, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani stressed the adherence to mediation between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, saying: “Our commitment to mediation to stop wars is not a political commitment, but rather a moral one.”
He added: “The war in Gaza is claiming thousands of lives, which requires international intervention to end it and bring in aid,” pointing to the expansion of the conflict and its impact on supply chains.
The Qatari Prime Minister went on to say that new, unconventional conflicts between the great powers put the international order at risk, adding that history has proven that the “cost of any occupation and its consequences are much greater than any return expected by the occupier.”
However, Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, Minister of State in the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that there is no political will to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, in light of the continuation of military operations on the ground. He stressed Qatar’s continued endeavor to bring Israel and Hamas to the negotiating table.
Mediation efforts led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States faltered after an Israeli move to attack the city of Rafah. At the beginning of May, the Emir of Qatar and the Egyptian President stressed, during a phone discussion, the necessity of intensifying mediation efforts in cooperation with all regional and international partners, to end the war in the Gaza Strip and alleviate the suffering of civilians.
Addressing the conference through a video speech, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shiaa Al-Sudani said that the aggression against Gaza threatens the entire region and its peoples.
He added that Iraq will be “the first to contribute to restoring life and reconstruction to Gaza.”
