Sahar Ragab & Muhamad Yehia
Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss regional issues of mutual concern
During the phone call, they reviewed the current developments in the Middle East, particularly the situation in the Gaza Strip and its humanitarian implications, emphasising the importance of intensifying efforts to reach a ceasefire and ensure the protection of all civilians.
The two top diplomats also discussed recent developments in Lebanon and touched upon the situation in Sudan and its humanitarian consequences.
Qatar has withdrawn as a key mediator for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal after concluding that Hamas and Israel were unwilling to negotiate “in good faith,” a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 said on Saturday.
“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 source added that Doha had already “notified both sides, Israel and Hamas, as well as the US administration” of its decision.
“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,” said the source.
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.
A senior Hamas official told media on Saturday that the group had received no indication from Qatar that it should leave the country, where its political office has been based for years.
“We have nothing to confirm or deny regarding what was published by an unidentified diplomatic source and we have not received any request to leave Qatar,” the official said from Doha.
On the ground in the besieged Gaza Strip, the fighting showed no signs of abating on Saturday.
The territory’s civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes killed at least 14 Palestinians overnight.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that at least nine people, including children and women, were killed in a strike that hit tents housing displaced Palestinians in the southern area of Khan Yunis, a toll confirmed by the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Another strike killed five people in Gaza City in the north, Bassal said.
A UN-backed assessment issued on 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 conflict has expanded to Lebanon, where Israel intensified its air campaign in September and later sent in ground troops after a year of cross-border clashes with Hamas ally Hizbollah.
Hizbollah said it attacked targets in northern Israel and also downed an Israeli drone over south Lebanon.
The Lebanese health ministry said seven people including two children were killed in Israeli strikes on the southern city of Tyre on Friday.
They are among more than 2,700 people killed in Lebanon since Sept.23, according to ministry figures.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday warned that the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, where Israel is battling Tehran-backed groups, could spill over beyond the Middle East.
“The world should know that in case of the expansion of war, its harmful effects will not be limited only to the West Asia region; insecurity and instability can spread to other regions, even far away,” Araghchi said in speech aired on state TV.
Iranian officials said Israel’s Oct.26 attack killed four soldiers and resulted in “limited damage” to radar systms. Iranian media also ..reported that a civilian was killed
