Qatari foreign minister discusses Gaza cease-fire efforts with Iranian counterpart

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Friday discussed the mediation efforts to reach a cease-fire in Gaza with his Iranian counterpart Ali Bagheri Kani.

According to a statement by the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Sheikh Mohammed, who is also his country's prime minister, discussed with Kani developments in the region, especially in Palestine, and "the latest developments in the joint mediation efforts to end the war" on the Gaza Strip.

During their phone call, they "stressed the need for calm and de-escalation in the region," the statement said.

Their phone conversation, which is the second in the past 24 hours, came after the US, Egypt and Qatar announced that they had presented Israel and Hamas with what they called a "bridging proposal" to further narrow "remaining gaps in the manner that allows for a swift implementation of the (cease-fire) deal."

A joint statement by the US, Egypt, and Qatar described the discussions, which took place over two days in Doha, as “serious and constructive,” adding that they “were conducted in a positive atmosphere.”

The mediators did not provide details of the new proposal but said that it is “consistent with the principles laid out by (US) President (Joe) Biden on May 31, 2024 and (UN) Security Council Resolution No. 2735.”

More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's war in Gaza since last October, the vast majority of them women and children.

Vast tracts of the coastal territory have been completely leveled amid relentless Israeli bombardment that has reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble.

Gazans continue to face acute shortages of food, water, and medicine due to Israeli restrictions on the entry of humanitarian assistance, as well as the significant curtailment of movement for aid convoys once they enter the strip.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar