Qatar says to continue mediation efforts to reach Gaza cease-fire deal

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) – Qatar said on Tuesday it will continue its mediation efforts to reach a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“We…encourage the international community to hold accountable those responsible for targeting civilians,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a press conference in Doha.

He warned that Israel’s closure of the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza "exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe” in the strip.

“There is no alternative to the opening of the land crossings for the entry of humanitarian aid trucks,” he added.

Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel to reach a cease-fire and hostage swap deal in Gaza have failed to make any breakthrough amid an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Rafah is home to more than 1.5 million Palestinians who have been sheltered there from Israel’s ongoing onslaught on Gaza, with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) estimating that more than 800,000 people have fled the city.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the enclave.

More than 35,600 Palestinians have since been killed, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and nearly 80,000 others injured since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the ICJ, which has ordered it to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar