DOHA, (PIC)
Majed Al-Ansari, the spokesman of the Qatari foreign ministry, has expressed cautious optimism regarding reaching a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
He told a press conference in Doha on Tuesday, “We are not near a ceasefire agreement yet, but we are optimistic.”
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas started in Doha on Monday through Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
Ansari said that the negotiations are now focussing on delivering urgently needed relief aid to the Gaza inhabitants and a temporary ceasefire, acknowledging, however, that it was too early to speak about a breakthrough.
Any Israeli ground offensive on Rafah in southern Gaza would entail humanitarian catastrophe and would negatively affect the negotiations, he warned.
Israel has been waging a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, with US and European backing, since October 7 last year, killing more than 31,000 citizens and wounding more than 70,000 others in addition to displacing 90% of the population.
