Qatar denies withdrawing from Gaza cease-fire mediation

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - Qatar denied on Saturday media reports claiming it has withdrawn from mediation efforts to achieve a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, saying the efforts are stalled temporarily.

In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed bin Mohammed Al-Ansari said “the media reports about the State of Qatar's withdrawal from mediation regarding the ceasefire in Gaza are not accurate.”

He added that Qatar “notified the parties 10 days ago during the last attempts to reach an agreement, that it would stall its efforts to mediate between Hamas and Israel if an agreement was not reached in that round."

The statement said Doha "will resume those efforts with its partners when the parties show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war and the ongoing suffering of civilians."

The spokesman said Qatar “will not accept that mediation be a reason for blackmailing it."

He said since the initial truce last November, there have been manipulative tactics, including reneging from obligations agreed upon through mediation, and exploiting the negotiations to justify the continuation of the war to serve "narrow political purposes."

Al Ansari also called reports concerning the closure Hamas political office in Doha as “inaccurate," saying its primary purpose is to be a "channel of communication" between the parties concerned, and the channel has contributed to achieving a cease-fire earlier.

He stressed the need to obtain information from official sources.

International media earlier claimed that Qatar will stop trying to mediate a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal until Hamas and Israel are willing to resume talks, and that it has told Hamas leaders they were no longer welcome in the Gulf country.

​​​​​​​US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s latest weeklong trip to the Middle East ended in late October without any breakthrough.

The war in Gaza began after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas cross-border incursion that killed around 1,200 people and about 250 others were taken as hostages. Israel since then has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians.

The Gulf country has been working alongside the US and Egypt for ending the war and the return of hostages.