Qatar PM: Gaza Negotiations Enter Sensitive Stage as Ceasefire Remains Incomplete

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani says efforts to secure a lasting halt to the conflict in Gaza have reached a highly delicate stage.

Speaking at the Doha Forum on Saturday, al-Thani noted that discussions aimed at strengthening the U.S.-supported ceasefire are still underway.

Qatar has been one of the main diplomatic players involved since the fighting began.

Although hostilities have decreased since the ceasefire came into force on October 10, they have not stopped entirely. Reports on Saturday indicated that at least seven people were killed despite the truce. 

“We are at a critical moment. It’s not yet there. So what we have just done is a pause,” al-Thani said.

“We cannot consider it yet a ceasefire. A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of the Israeli forces – (until) there is stability back in Gaza, people can go in and out – which is not the case today.”

Reuters