Qatar says mediation efforts are hampered by the Israeli offensive on the southern Gaza city.
The Israeli military operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip has set back ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, mediator Qatar said, adding that the talks had lost steam.
“Particularly in the last few weeks, we have seen some momentum, but unfortunately things have not moved in the right direction and we currently find ourselves in a situation close to a stalemate,” Prime Minister Sheikh said Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on Tuesday.
“Of course, what happened with Rafah set us back. »
Qatar has been engaged for months in mediation between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, as well as Egypt and the United States.
On Tuesday morning, Israeli forces moved deeper into eastern Rafah, entering the neighborhoods of al-Jnaina, as-Salam and Brazil, as they prepared to expand their military operation.
The Israeli military issued evacuation orders, forcing tens of thousands more Palestinians to flee, despite U.S. warnings of a full-scale attack on the southern city teeming with displaced people.
Israeli forces also continued to operate with extreme force in the town of Jabalia, the Jabalia refugee camp and surrounding areas of northern Gaza.
Israeli tanks, bulldozers and armored vehicles surrounded United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) schools, which had been transformed into shelters for hundreds of displaced families.
An airstrike on a residential building south of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed at least 14 people, while Israeli warplanes also attacked a school in the refugee camp where a fire broke out. is declared, according to reports.
Sheikh Mohammed said that on the Israeli side there was no clarity on how to stop the war. “I don’t think they’re looking at that as an option… even when we’re talking about an agreement and a possible ceasefire,” he said.
Israeli politicians have indicated “by their statements that they will stay there, that they will continue the war,” he said, adding that “there is no clarity on what Gaza will look like after that “.
Sheikh Mohammed said the fundamental difference between the two sides was over the release of captives and an end to the war. “There is a party that wants to end the war and then talk about the hostages, and there is another party that wants the hostages and wants to continue the war,” he said.
“As long as there is no commonality between these two things, it will not allow us to achieve a result.”
Israel is determined to continue its offensive on Rafah – considered the last refuge in Gaza, where more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering – in defiance of warnings from the UN and its allies, including its main supporter, United States.
Israeli military operations forced some 150,000 people to flee last week to areas devastated by previous attacks.
The displaced were mainly heading towards Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, and Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza. Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hind Khoudary said Deir el-Balah was running out of space as people flocked in search of shelter.