Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani blamed a “Palestinian party” for a ceasefire violation, referring to the reported killing of an Israeli soldier in Rafah, southern Gaza, on Tuesday.
Speaking yesterday at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, the Prime Minister told interviewer Ayman Mohyeldin that the attack on Israeli soldiers was “basically a violation by the Palestinian party,” noting that while Hamas has issued a statement that they are not in communication with this group, there is “no verification whether this is true or not.”
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It is important to note, however, that following the attack on the soldier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered “powerful” retaliatory strikes against Gaza.
The attacks killed 104 people, mostly women and children, Al Jazeera reported, citing the Gaza Ministry of Health. Israel claimed its strikes targeted senior Hamas fighters, killing dozens, and later said it would begin observing the ceasefire again in mid-Wednesday.
“We have been working very intensively with both sides to ensure that the ceasefire is maintained,” said the Prime Minister of Qatar. “The commitment of the United States, of course, was key in that. And I think that what happened yesterday [Tuesday] “It was rape.”
He noted that there have been discussions about Hamas’s attempt to “delay the transfer of corpses.” “We made it very clear to them that this is part of the commitment that we needed to fulfill,” he added.
“From our perspective, from the beginning of this, from October 7 until today, if you look at the entire process, we went through many challenges, many obstacles, and it was not an easy road,” he said.
“We did our best to navigate and make sure we achieved the first [ceasefire]the second, and now the ceasefire that I hope lasts,” added the prime minister.
Calling the incident “very disappointing and frustrating,” Al-Thani said they are trying to contain it. “We mobilized immediately after this and in full coordination with the United States. And we have seen that the United States is also committed to the agreement.”
