Qatar warns Mideast at ‘critical juncture’ amid Iran-Israel escalation

By Mohamed Rajawi

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Middle East region is at a “critical juncture,” Qatar warned on Wednesday, calling on all parties to de-escalate and avoid further tensions.

"The Middle East has come to a critical juncture,” Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told a joint press conference in Doha with his Romanian counterpart Marcel Ciolacu.

“We call on all parties to de-escalate and avoid dragging the region into a new cycle of conflicts,'' he added.

Tension has escalated between Iran and Israel following an Iranian aerial attack on Saturday. Tehran said the missile and drone attack was in response to the April 1 attack on its consulate in Syria, in which at least 13 people were killed, including seven military advisers.

Israel has vowed to respond to the Iranian attack.

The escalation comes as Israel continued its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed 33,900 people and injured 76,500 others following an Oct. 7 Hamas attack that claimed 1,200 lives.

As for the negotiations between Hamas and Israel for a cease-fire in Gaza, bin Abdulrahman said the negotiations face some obstacles, without providing details.

Qatar "is trying to overcome these obstacles to put an end to the suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” he added.

Egypt, Qatar, and the US are brokering indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap between the two sides.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while over 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul