Qatar urges international community united efforts for ceasefire in Gaza

Doha, The Gulf Observer: The official spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged the international community for working together to reap results from mediation efforts in Gaza and urgent ceasefire to alleviate human tragedies.

“Unless we work as an international community together to make sure there is an active and viable mediation between both sides, the expectations (are) that we will see only more atrocities and worsening humanitarian situation,” said official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majid bin Mohammed Al Ansari.

In a media briefing, he termed the bombing by Israeli occupation forces on the headquarters of the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza as a “blatant violation of international law”.

“This act is just an extension of the occupation forces’ approach of targeting civilians and civilian installations which also included hospitals, schools, residential areas and shelters for the internally displaced people.”

He asked the international community to move urgently to hold Israel accountable for its repeated crimes against civilians and civilian objects and to oblige it to comply with international laws. To a question regarding success of Qatari mediation efforts, he said that worsening situation on ground with bombing of civilian installations, hospitals was reducing trust between both sides and making things difficult.

“We are hopeful as (there is) no other chance other than mediation taking place between the two sides.” He said there were some positive developments like release of four hostages and limited period of calm daily which he said was not enough by any respects.

He said that the bombing of the committee’s headquarters is an extension of the policy of targeting people, especially since this committee has worked through its projects to alleviate the suffering of the population in the Gaza Strip, which is in crisis due to the long siege and ongoing aggression.

The official spokesperson praised the interaction of a number of countries and international organisations and their condemnation of the bombing of the committee’s headquarters, most notably Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), GCC Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers and the General Assembly of Secretaries-General of Arab Parliaments.

Al Ansari warned against the Israeli occupation committing a new massacre in the Al Shifa Medical Complex, considering that the repeated Israeli provocations by targeting its surroundings and the outpatient clinics building therein are a prelude to targeting the complex, in which a large number of displaced people, estimated at 60,000, have taken refuge, along with medical staff and the injured people.

He stressed that Qatar would continue to provide aid, noting that the total number of Qatari aid planes that arrived in the Egyptian city of Al Arish amounted to about 10 planes, with a total of more than 358 tonnes of aid.

Al Ansari said that two Qatari planes belonging to the Qatari Armed Forces headed to the Egyptian city of Al Arish carrying 54 tonnes of aid, including a field hospital, shelter supplies, and medical and food materials, provided by the Qatar Fund for Development, the Qatar Red Crescent, and Qatar Charity in preparation for transporting it to Gaza.

He said that this aid comes within the framework of Qatar’s support for Palestinian people and its support for them during the difficult humanitarian crisis due to Israeli bombing on Gaza Strip.