Qatar suspends Gaza mediation

DUBAI:

Qatar has suspended its role as a key mediator for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal after concluding that Hamas and Israel were unwilling to negotiate "in good faith", a diplomatic source told AFP Saturday.

The Gulf emirate, which has hosted Hamas's political leadership since 2012 with US blessing, has been involved in months of protracted diplomacy aimed at ending the war triggered by the Palestinian group's October 7 attack on Israel last year.

But the talks, also mediated by Cairo and Washington, have repeatedly hit snags since a one-week truce in November 2023 -- the only one so far -- with both sides trading blame for the impasse.

"The Qataris informed both the Israelis and Hamas that as long as there is a refusal to negotiate a deal in good faith, they cannot continue to mediate," said the diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The Qataris conveyed to the US administration that they would be ready to re-engage in mediation when both sides... demonstrate a sincere willingness to return to the negotiating table," the source added.

There was no official confirmation from Qatar or any comment from Egypt and the United States.

With Gaza truce talks at a deadlock, the Hamas political office in Doha "no longer serves its purpose", said the source, without specifying whether Qatar intends to ask leaders of the Palestinian group to leave the country.

During talks over the past year, both Qatari and US officials indicated that Hamas would remain in Doha as long as its presence offered a viable channel of communication.

A senior Hamas official in Doha told AFP that "we have not received any request to leave Qatar".

Despite last November's truce, when scores of Hamas-held hostages were released, successive rounds of negotiations -- as recently as late last month -- have failed to end the war.

The diplomatic source said Saturday that Qatar had "concluded that there is insufficient willingness from either side" to bridge gaps in negotiations.

A crucial hurdle has been Hamas's insistence that Israel withdraw completely from Gaza, which Israeli officials have repeatedly rejected.

On the ground in the besieged Gaza Strip, the fighting showed no signs of abating Saturday.

The territory's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes killed at least 14 Palestinians overnight, including nine at a tent camp in the southern area of Khan Yunis.

Afaf Tafesh told AFP she had lost relatives in that strike.

"We have no food, no water, no place to sleep and we are all the time moving from place to place," she said.

Israel's military said its troops killed "dozens of terrorists" in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza, where it has been conducting a sweeping air and ground operation for more than a month.

Visiting Jabalia on Friday, Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi told troops that "we are not stopping or slowing down", vowing "to bring back the hostages, to ensure security" for Israeli communities near the Gaza border, a statement from the military said.

A UN-backed assessment issued Saturday said famine is looming in northern Gaza because of a "rapidly deteriorating situation" with increased hostilities and a near-complete halt in food aid.

"Famine thresholds may have already been crossed or else will be in the near future," said the alert from the Famine Review Committee.

The Israeli military said the report relied on "partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests".