We are definitely frustrated about how slowly it sometimes goes in the negotiation process. This is an urgent matter. Lives are at stake as long as this military operation continues day after day, he says.
Hamas signaled last week that they will not accept Israel's latest proposal for a 45-day ceasefire. Israel is said to have demanded that the Palestinians be disarmed and that half of the remaining hostages in Gaza be released, according to a high-ranking representative of Hamas.
We have continuously worked in recent days to bring the parties together and resume the agreement approved by both sides, says al-Khulaifi.
Qatar, together with the USA and Egypt, mediated a six-week ceasefire in Gaza in a first phase that came into effect in mid-January. However, Israel resumed its attacks on Gaza in mid-March after the parties failed to agree on a second, more in-depth phase of the ceasefire.
During the lengthy mediation process, Qatar has been subject to criticism from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. al-Khulaifi dismisses the criticism as unfounded in the interview.
In total, over 50,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war broke out as a result of Hamas' terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. In that attack, 1,281 people were killed, most of them civilians.
