Qatar’s prime minister has warned that daily Israeli breaches of the Gaza ceasefire are threatening the entire agreement, as he called for urgent progress towards the next phase of the deal to end Israel’s genocidal war on the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani made the appeal following talks with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday, where he stressed that “delays and ceasefire violations endanger the entire process and place mediators in a difficult position”.
The Qatari premier, whose country has played a critical mediating role, said humanitarian aid must reach Gaza “unconditionally” and that the second phase of the agreement must begin immediately.
The discussions at the seventh US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue came as the fragile truce continues to fray amid a deepening humanitarian emergency across Gaza.
Chief among them was mounting pressure on Israel to halt ceasefire violations, “most of which have been” committed by Israeli forces, he said.
Discussions also focused on forming an international stabilisation force (ISF), expected to include Indonesian and Turkish troops, though Israel has baulked at Turkiye’s involvement, and on Gaza’s deepening humanitarian crisis, with Qatar urging Washington to press Israel to allow more aid through.