Palestinian president in Qatar for talks on Israeli onslaught in Gaza

By Awad Rjoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Sunday for talks on Israel’s ongoing onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

Abbas will meet Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Monday to discuss efforts to halt the Israeli offensive against Gaza, as well as Palestinian-Qatari relations, the official news agency Wafa reported.

The visit comes amid efforts by Qatar, Egypt and the United States to broker a cease-fire in Gaza and hostage swap between Israel and Hamas.

The Israeli army plans to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, home to more than 1 million residents seeking refuge from war, to defeat what Tel Aviv calls the remaining "Hamas battalions." The planned offensive has triggered concerns of a humanitarian catastrophe in the city.

Palestinians have sought refuge in Rafah as Israel pounded the rest of the enclave since Oct. 7. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed more than 28,000 victims and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has 85% of the territory’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala