After almost two years of endless bloodshed and Israel’s genocidal attacks on Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, there is a renewed push by the mediators to broker an agreement between Hamas and Israel to cease fire and release hostages and detainees.
The efforts come amid Israeli government’s dangerous escalation after it announced to take full military control of the Gaza City and intensified its bombardment of the strip over the past few days. The Israeli forces have also brutally assassinated a team of Al Jazeera journalists in the latest attack on media workers in the strip.
The State of Qatar has been a key mediator in the Gaza ceasefire efforts, along with Egypt and the United States. Qatar’s mediation efforts have led to brief periods of truce during which hundreds of detainees were released on both sides and humanitarian aid was delivered to the people of Gaza.
Qatar continues to be involved in the mediation and humanitarian efforts under the leadership of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Earlier this week, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip and occupied Palestinian territories with Dutch Prime Minister H E Dick Schoof. They discussed ways to advance international efforts to resolve the Palestinian issue through peaceful means and implement the two-state solution.
But even amid renewed truce efforts, Israel continues to pound Gaza. It announced yesterday to have approved a new Gaza offensive framework, apparently part of the Netanyahu government’s earlier announcement of occupying the Gaza City. Hamas said yesterday the Israeli forces were making aggressive incursions in Gaza City. These Israeli moves have been widely condemned by the international community.
The Israeli offensive has killed at least 61,722 people in the Gaza Strip and injured more than 150,000 so far. The Strip lies in ruins and its inhabitants are displaced to tents, which are also targeted by the Israeli forces on a daily basis. It is time the International community took decisive steps to stop this brutal war on Palestinians.
