Qatar is continuing its efforts for ceasefire and release of detainees in the Gaza Strip, along with partners including Egypt and the United States. The Gaza situation also came under discussion during a meeting of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with Prime Minister of Canada H E Justin Trudeau in Ottawa yesterday.
The discussion came at a time of grave escalations in the conflict with Israeli military continuing its brutal bombing of Gaza, and waves of deadly device explosions in Lebanon. Israel hit another Gaza school building sheltering displaced Palestinians yesterday, killing five. The Israeli military has launches deadly strikes on school buildings in recent weeks, killing civilians including UN staff. The vast majority of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once by the ongoing war, and at least 41,272 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the strip since October 7 last year.
On Tuesday, simultaneous explosion of hundreds of paging devices killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded up to 2,800 others across Lebanon, in an unprecedented attack blamed on Israel. As Lebanese probed the pager explosions, a second wave of device explosions killed nine people and wounded more than 300 in Lebanon yesterday, officials said, stoking fears of an all-out war in the region.
Qatar has been warning against the danger of expansion of the conflict. The attacks further raise tensions and would affect the ongoing ceasefire efforts. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also expressed frustration yesterday at surprise escalations that threaten to derail truce efforts.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi has also vowed to intensify Gaza truce talks, working along with Qatar and the US. The Egyptian President also called for “decisive intervention to remove obstacles to the entry of huge amounts of aid” to Gaza and “ending Israeli violations in the West Bank”.
The United Nations Security Council will meet tomorrow to discuss Lebanon explosions. As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday, civilian objects should not be weaponised. “This event confirms that there is a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon -- and everything must be done to avoid the escalation,” Guterres said.
Qatar and its partners have shown determination to continue their mediation efforts, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of slow-rolling the talks because of his domestic political interests. It is time the international community made collective efforts to make Israel abide by international law.
