Qatar called for prompt international intervention on Friday to halt the violence in the Gaza Strip following renewed Israeli bombardment after a truce mediated by the Gulf emirate.
Qatar urged swift international action on Friday to stop violence in the Gaza Strip after renewed Israeli bombardment of the territory at the end of a truce that the Gulf emirate mediated.
In a statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry stressed that continued bombing at the end of the pause “complicates mediation efforts and exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip,” adding that it “calls on the international community to move quickly to stop the violence.”
It stated “its condemnation of all forms of targeting civilians, the practice of collective punishment, and attempts to forcibly displace citizens of the besieged Gaza Strip, and its demand for an immediate ceasefire.”
Qatar has been engaged in intense negotiations, with support from Egypt and the United States, to repeatedly prolong a truce in Gaza that had lasted a total of seven days after two extensions.
The agreement was designed to be continued if Hamas could release 10 hostages per day.
However, after the truce expired on Friday morning, the Israeli army said that its combat operations had resumed.
Eight more Israeli hostages were freed under the terms of the deal on Thursday.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that negotiations between Israel and Hamas “are continuing with the aim of returning to a pause.”
Katrine Dige Houmøller, with AFP
