Qatar and Egypt, key players in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, are questioning the future of the talks following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in what the Palestinian group described as “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence.”
“The political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza as negotiations continue lead us to wonder how mediation can succeed when one side assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani wrote on X.
“Peace needs serious partners and a global position against disregard for human life.”
The political assassinations and repeated attacks on civilians in Gaza as negotiations continue make us wonder how mediation can succeed when one side assassinates the negotiator on the other side. Peace needs serious partners and a global stand against disregard for human life.
– محمد بن عبدالرحمن (@MBA_AlThani_) July 31, 2024
Egypt’s foreign ministry said a “dangerous Israeli policy of escalation” over the past two days had undermined efforts to negotiate an end to fighting in Gaza, where nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks since October last year.
“The coincidence of this regional escalation with the lack of progress in the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza increases the complexity of the situation and indicates the lack of Israeli political will to calm it,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“This undermines the hard-working efforts of Egypt and its partners to end the war in the Gaza Strip and the human suffering of the Palestinian people.”
Qatar, Egypt and the United States have repeatedly tried to reach a ceasefire in the war on Gaza. But a final agreement to end the war and release Palestinian prisoners held in Gaza, as well as those held by Israel, has proven complicated, with no progress seen in the latest round of talks held in Rome on Sunday.
Nour Odeh, a political analyst, told Tel Aviv Tribune that it would be very difficult for ceasefire negotiations to make any progress at this stage.
“There may not be a radical change in the dynamics of the fighting on the ground in Gaza, but the prospects for an urgently needed ceasefire… are certainly further away than they have ever been,” she said.
In Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, Palestinians mourning Haniyeh’s death shared similar sentiments.
“This man (Haniyeh) could have signed the prisoner exchange deal with the Israelis,” Saleh al-Shannar, who was displaced from his home in northern Gaza, told The Associated Press.
“Why did they kill him? They killed peace, not Ismail Haniyeh.”
Nour Abu Salam, a displaced woman, said the killing demonstrated Israel’s unwillingness to end the war and establish peace in the region. “By killing Haniyeh, they are destroying everything,” she said.
“A ceasefire in Gaza is essential”
After the assassination of the Hamas leader, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a ceasefire in Gaza was essential to prevent the conflict from spreading to the rest of the region.
“We have been working since day one not only to try to get a better situation in Gaza, but also to prevent the conflict from spreading, whether it’s in the north with Lebanon and Hezbollah, in the Red Sea with the Houthis, in Iran, in Syria, in Iraq, wherever,” Blinken said at a forum in Singapore.
“To prevent this from happening and to move towards a better world, it is essential to obtain a ceasefire.”
According to U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, Blinken spoke with the prime minister of Qatar and stressed “the importance of continuing to work toward a ceasefire.”
Meanwhile, Israeli officials, who have yet to comment on Haniyeh’s assassination, said ceasefire negotiations would continue.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office said Wednesday that he stressed the importance of continuing to work toward reaching an agreement to release the remaining 115 Israeli and foreign captives during a phone call with his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told reporters in an online briefing that Israel remained committed to the negotiations.