The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh may further imperil attempts to establish a ceasefire in Gaza, according to suggestions made on Wednesday by Qatar and Egypt, which have served as intermediaries in the ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. “Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, wrote on X.
“Peace needs serious partners & a global stance against the disregard for human life.” Later, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a phone conversation with Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the foreign minister, in which they discussed the need to keep pursuing a ceasefire. In a statement, Egypt’s foreign ministry claimed that efforts to mediate a settlement to the Gaza conflict had been hampered by a “dangerous Israeli escalation policy” during the previous two days.
“The coincidence of this regional escalation with the lack of progress in the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza increases the complexity of the situation and indicates the absence of Israeli political will to calm it down,” said the statement. “It undercuts the strenuous efforts made by Egypt and its partners to stop the war in the Gaza Strip and put an end to the human suffering of the Palestinian people,” it stated.
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