Talks over Gaza ceasefire at stalemate after Rafah operation, Qatar PM says

Talks over a ceasefire in Gaza have reached a stalemate due to Israel's military operations in Rafah, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Tuesday.

Israeli operations in Rafah, which started this month, have closed a main crossing point for aid from the border with Egypt a move humanitarian groups say has worsened an already dire situation.

"Especially in the past few weeks, we have seen some momentum building but unfortunately, things didn't move in the right direction and right now we are in a status of almost a stalemate. Of course, what happened with Rafah sent us backward," Sheikh Mohammed said at an economic forum in Doha.

Sheikh Mohammed, whose country has mediated heavily between Palestinian group Hamas and Israel throughout the seven-month war, said Qatar would keep working to resolve the situation.

"We make it very clear for everyone: our job is limited to our mediation," he said. "That's what we will do, that what we will continue to do."

Analysis: Israel's offensive is the most serious test of its relationship with Cairo in decades

Will Israel's ground invasion of Rafah force Egypt to act? ⬇️

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Sheikh Mohammed said the fundamental difference between the two parties was over the release of hostages and ending the war.

"There is one party that wants to end the war and then talk about the hostages and there is another party who wants the hostages and wants to continue the war. As long as there is not any commonality between those two things it won't get us to a result," Sheikh Mohammed said.

More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s unprecedented assault on the Gaza Strip, say health officials in the enclave.

The war was sparked when Hamas led an attack in southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,170 people and abducting 252 others, of whom 133 are believed to remain in captivity in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Hamas says the attack came in retaliation to Israel's blockade of Gaza since 2007 and continued aggression against the Palestinian people.