Latest news with #MajedAlAnsari
Observer
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Observer
Gaza rescuers say Israeli forces kill 34 as ceasefire nears
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed 34 people on Monday, including 11 waiting for aid, as momentum built behind a ceasefire push for the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a day earlier that his country's 'victory' over Iran had created 'opportunities', including for freeing hostages held by fighters in Gaza. His comments raised hopes for a new ceasefire in the conflict that has created dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza. Key mediator Qatar said on Monday that 'momentum' had been created by the Iran-Israel ceasefire. "We won't hold our breath for this to happen today and tomorrow, but we believe that the elements are in place to push forward towards restarting the talks," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told journalists. Meanwhile, on the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said that 34 people had been killed by Israeli strikes or gunfire since midnight. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that "11 people (were) killed near aid distribution points in the central and southern parts of the territory." Eyewitnesses and local authorities have reported repeated killings of Palestinians near distribution centres over recent weeks. Samir Abu Jarbou, 28, said by phone that he had gone with four relatives to pick up food aid in an area of central Gaza around midnight. "Suddenly the (Israeli) army opened fire, and drones started shooting. We ran away and got nothing," he said. "The situation is catastrophic. We are suffering from terrible hunger. My only wish is to succeed in getting a bag of flour to feed my seven siblings." Bassal said 23 people were killed in at least seven separate strikes across the territory, mainly in the north. When asked for comment, the Israeli military said it needed more information to look into the reports. Restrictions on media in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean the news agency is unable to independently verify the full tolls and details provided by rescuers. Israel's military issued a fresh evacuation order on Monday, for several areas in and around Gaza City. "For your safety, immediately evacuate further westward and southward toward Al Mawasi," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X. Despite being declared a safe zone by Israel, Al Mawasi has been hit by repeated strikes. Of the 251 hostages seized during the assault, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. - AFP
The National
21 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
Qatar tells of huge cost of Iranian missile attack
Iran's attack on Al Udeid airbase in Qatar last week was 'not harmless' but Doha opted for de-escalation in its wake, Qatar 's Foreign Ministry spokesman said, in one of the most detailed accounts yet of the strikes and the ceasefire deal that followed. Iran launched missiles at the base, which houses US troops alongside Qatari and British air forces, in response to America's strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran less than 48 hours beforehand. These prompted closure of Qatari, Kuwaiti and Bahraini airspace, and the activation of Doha's air defence systems. 'We're talking about the huge cost on the military side and a huge cost on the economic side, because our airspace was closed for more than six hours, our national airline had to divert,' Dr Majed Al Ansari told a panel hosted by the Rome-based Institute of International Affairs. This was, "of course, alongside the reputational damage when it comes to safety and security", he added. "This was not a harmless attack on Qatar. But again, we chose peace, because this is what we've all learnt and this is what we will do in the future.' Qatar deployed three Patriot air defence batteries in two locations and more than 200 missiles to down all but one of 20 missiles fired on the night of Monday, June 23, said Mr Al Ansari, who is also adviser to Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The missiles were launched in two barrages of seven and 13 missiles by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The first salvo was downed at sea, while one missile from the second group landed at Al Udeid, Mr Al Ansari added. No injuries were reported, a Qatari military official said previously. Mr Al Ansari refuted the idea that the attack was co-ordinated with the Iranians, although he said the first warning that missiles were on the way came on the morning of June 23, hours before the first one was launched around 7.30pm. 'It was an attack that we tried to make sure did not happen, that we have always been afraid of as a scenario and have always strategised against,' he said. Qatar's leaders 'did not know for sure it was happening', until it was launched and Mr Al Ansari was sitting alongside Mr Al Thani and Qatari Minister of State Dr Mohammed Al Khulaifi, who has led some of Doha's interactions with Iran. The officials then received word that US President Donald Trump wanted to engage Qatar to broker a ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel, and put an end to nearly two weeks of conflict that left hundreds dead and destroyed infrastructure in both countries. We do believe that the ceasefire will hold, as long as the momentum that was created by the ceasefire would lead to other positive points Dr Majed Al Ansari, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman The truce deal had to account for 'technical information' such as finding parameters and language on which both parties would agree, Mr Al Ansari said. But equally as crucial was dealing with 'the optics around the ceasefire', he added. 'I cannot stress enough how important the national pride element was on both sides of the discussion when it came to a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, how the political narrative needed to be controlled between both sides to make sure that there was no political posturing that would lead to the collapse of a ceasefire," he said. "Doing both together, through our discussions with both sides, liaising with the Americans, is what brought us to the ceasefire.' Qatar was keen on de-escalation because even before the attack on Al Udeid, the Iran-Israel war had come perilously close to tis borders. On June 14, Israel hit the South Pars offshore gasfield, which connects to Qatar's giant North gasfield in the Arabian Gulf, sending off alarm bells in Doha. Peace through diplomacy Iranian officials have been at pains to explain that attacking Al Udeid was a retaliation against US strikes on its nuclear sites, and there was no intention of provoking Qatar. Tehran has been attempting to improve its relations with neighbouring countries in recent years. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian 'expressed his regret' to Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim in a phone call the day after the attack, according to a statement from the emir's office. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said at the that Iran 'remains fully committed to its good-neighbourliness policy with respect to the State of Qatar". The 'violation' was 'completely inconsistent with the principle of good neighbourliness". the emir's statement read. The truce will hold as long as the renewed peace paves the way for diplomatic interaction over Iran's nuclear programme, Mr Al Ansari said. 'We do believe that the ceasefire will hold, as long as the momentum that was created by the ceasefire will lead to other positive points,' he said. 'We have seen the positive statements of the US regarding talks with Iran. We've seen some positive statements coming in from Iran talks with the US, kick-starting that process immediately, and making sure that we have talks on the wider issues is the only safeguard against another escalation taking place.' US President Donald Trump last week claimed negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear programme would resume 'next week'. Iranian officials have denied that talks have been scheduled and want guarantees that future discussions will not be interrupted by military operations. They are believed to be seeking some concessions in terms of sanctions relief or other incentives as a sign, Iranian sources previously told The National, of Washington's sincerity in negotiations. That could prove difficult for the Trump administration. The EU and Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, including Qatar, can work together to ensure peace continues through diplomacy, Mr Al Ansari said. He highlighted Oman and Italy, which hosted five rounds of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington before the Israeli attacks prompted a cancellation of a sixth. 'It showed very clearly that between Europe as a whole, the GCC as a whole, we can do a lot together,' he said. Regional peace can come only with a solution for the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Mr Al Ansari added. Conflicts across the region are not only destabilising countries including Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen – they are causing a 'a wave of radicalisation and negative sentiment towards the West that we should not take lightly", he said. This is not a by-product but a 'major result' of the escalation that lasted for nearly two years. 'It will lead to problems for all of us, collectively in the region, unless we are able to deal with it.'
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Qatar urges Israel, Hamas to seize ‘window of opportunity' for Gaza truce
US President Donald Trump voiced optimism about a new ceasefire in Gaza. (AP pic) DOHA : Gaza mediators are engaging with Israel and Hamas to build on momentum from this week's ceasefire with Iran and work towards a truce in the Palestinian territory, Qatar foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said. Israel and Iran on Tuesday agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the US and Qatar just hours after the Islamic republic launched a salvo of missiles towards the wealthy Gulf state, targeting the American military base hosted there. The unprecedented attack on Qatari soil followed Washington's intervention into a days-long war between Israel and Iran which saw US warplanes strike Iranian nuclear facilities, prompting promises of retaliation from Tehran. In an interview with AFP on Friday, Ansari said Doha – with fellow Gaza mediators in Washington and Cairo – was now 'trying to use the momentum that was created by the ceasefire between Iran and Israel to restart the talks over Gaza'. 'If we don't utilise this window of opportunity and this momentum, it's an opportunity lost amongst many in the near past. We don't want to see that again,' the spokesman, who is also an adviser to Qatar's prime minister, said. US President Donald Trump voiced optimism on Friday about a new ceasefire in Gaza saying an agreement involving Israel and Hamas could come as early as next week. Mediators have been engaged in months of back-and-forth negotiations with the warring parties aimed at ending 20 months of war in Gaza, with Ansari explaining there were no current talks between the sides but that Qatar was 'heavily involved in talking to every side separately'. A two-month truce, which was agreed as Trump came into office in January, collapsed in March with Israel intensifying military operations in Gaza afterwards. 'We have seen US pressure and what it can accomplish,' Ansari said referring to the January truce which saw dozens of hostages held by Hamas released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The Qatari official said particularly in the context of US enforcement of the Israel-Iran truce, it was 'not a far-fetched idea' that pressure from Washington would achieve a fresh truce in Gaza. 'We are working with them very, very closely to make sure that the right pressure is applied from the international community as a whole, especially from the US, to see both parties at the negotiating table,' Ansari said. There were no casualties on Monday when Iran targeted Al Udeid, the Middle East's biggest US base and headquarters of its regional command. Ansari said that as leaders were weighing their response to the attack, a call came from the US president to Qatar's emir, saying 'there is a possibility for regional stability… and that Israel has agreed to a ceasefire'. 'Qatar could have taken the decision to escalate,' Ansari said. 'But because there was a chance for peace… we opted for that,' he said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
How Qatar defused Iran's attack on the largest US-run base in the region
Top Qatari officials had been meeting with the country's prime minister on Monday afternoon to find ways of de-escalating a conflict between Iran and Israel, when defense ministry personnel called to warn of incoming Iranian missiles. The attack, the first on the Gulf, caught them by surprise, according to Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari, who recalls feeling the prime minister's residence shake with the interceptions that quickly followed overhead. Unease had gripped the Gulf Arab states that morning. The glitzy, oil-rich capitals feared a worst-case scenario: an Iranian missile strike shattering their image of stability after 12 days of war between Israel and Iran, which had culminated in a series of US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Bahrain, where the US Naval Command is located, told residents not to use main roads and Kuwait, which hosts several US military bases, activated shelters in ministerial complexes. In nearby Dubai and Abu Dhabi, some residents were booking early flights out and others stocking up on supplies. In Doha, nervous residents were on high alert. US and UK citizens in the country had been told to seek shelter and American military personnel had been evacuated from the US-run Al Udeid Base. Qatar's early warning military radar system, one of the most advanced in the region, and intelligence gathered indicated that Iranian missile batteries had moved toward Qatar earlier that day, the spokesperson said – but nothing was certain until shortly before the strikes. 'It could've been misdirected to lead us away from the actual target. There was still a lot of targets in the region…but towards the end it was very clear, their missile systems were hot and we had a very clear idea an hour before the attack, Al Udeid Base was going to be targeted,' a Qatari official with knowledge of defense operations said. Around 7 p.m. local time, Qatari officials were informed by their military that Iran's missiles were airborne and heading towards Al Udeid base, Al-Ansari said. Qatar's armed forces deployed 300 service members and activated multiple Qatari Patriot anti-air missile batteries across two sites to counter the 19 Iranian missiles roaring toward the country, according to Al-Ansari. US President Donald Trump has said that 14 missiles were fired from Iran. Qatari forces coordinated closely with the US, but the operation was 'Qatari led,' Al-Ansari told CNN. Seven missiles were intercepted over the Persian Gulf before reaching Qatari soil, he said. Another 11 were intercepted over Doha without causing damage and one landed in an uninhabited area of the base causing minimal damage. According to Trump, Iran had given the US early notice ahead of the attack. While Doha received intel from Washington, it did not receive any warning directly from the Iranians, according to Al-Ansari – though officials were well aware that the US bases in the region could be targeted. 'The Iranians told us months ago … if there was an attack by the US on Iranian soil that would make bases hosting American forces in the region legitimate targets,' Al-Ansari said. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that warning was reiterated to his Gulf counterparts in an Istanbul meeting a day before Iranian strikes on Qatar. Iran's National Security Council said after the intercepted attack that its strikes had posed 'no dangerous aspect to our friendly and brotherly country of Qatar and its noble people.' Still, Al-Ansari rejects speculation that Qatar – given its working relationship with Tehran – might have given a greenlight for the strikes in order to create an off-ramp for regional escalation. 'We do not take it lightly for our country to be attacked by missiles from any side and we would never do that as part of political posturing or a game in the region,' he said. 'We would not put our people in the line of danger. I would not put my daughter under missiles coming from the sky just to come out with a political outcome. This was a complete surprise to us,' Ansari said. In the moments after the attack, Trump called Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani telling him the Israelis were willing to agree to a ceasefire and asked him to do the same for the Iranians, according to Al-Ansari. 'As we were discussing how to retaliate to this attack … this is when we get a call from the United States that a possible ceasefire, a possible avenue to regional security had opened,' Ansari said. Doha's role as mediator quickly became key in the aftermath of the strikes. Qatar's chief negotiator Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi spoke to the Iranians while the Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was speaking to US Vice President JD Vance. Soon, 'we were able to secure a deal,' Al-Ansaris says – and in the nick of time. 'All options were on the table that night … we could have immediately retaliated or pulled back and say we're not talking to a country that sent 19 missiles our way. But we also realized that was a moment that could create momentum for peace in a region that hasn't been there for two years now,' Ansari said. Shortly after, Trump declared on social media that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel had been brokered.
CNN
3 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
How Qatar defused Iran's attack on the largest US-run base in the region
Top Qatari officials had been meeting with the country's prime minister on Monday afternoon to find ways of de-escalating a conflict between Iran and Israel, when defense ministry personnel called to warn of incoming Iranian missiles. The attack, the first on the Gulf, caught them by surprise, according to Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari, who recalls feeling the prime minister's residence shake with the interceptions that quickly followed overhead. Unease had gripped the Gulf Arab states that morning. The glitzy, oil-rich capitals feared a worst-case scenario: an Iranian missile strike shattering their image of stability after 12 days of war between Israel and Iran, which had culminated in a series of US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Bahrain, where the US Naval Command is located, told residents not to use main roads and Kuwait, which hosts several US military bases, activated shelters in ministerial complexes. In nearby Dubai and Abu Dhabi, some residents were booking early flights out and others stocking up on supplies. In Doha, nervous residents were on high alert. US and UK citizens in the country had been told to seek shelter and American military personnel had been evacuated from the US-run Al Udeid Base. Qatar's early warning military radar system, one of the most advanced in the region, and intelligence gathered indicated that Iranian missile batteries had moved toward Qatar earlier that day, the spokesperson said – but nothing was certain until shortly before the strikes. 'It could've been misdirected to lead us away from the actual target. There was still a lot of targets in the region…but towards the end it was very clear, their missile systems were hot and we had a very clear idea an hour before the attack, Al Udeid Base was going to be targeted,' a Qatari official with knowledge of defense operations said. Around 7 p.m. local time, Qatari officials were informed by their military that Iran's missiles were airborne and heading towards Al Udeid base, Al-Ansari said. Qatar's armed forces deployed 300 service members and activated multiple Qatari Patriot anti-air missile batteries across two sites to counter the 19 Iranian missiles roaring toward the country, according to Al-Ansari. US President Donald Trump has said that 14 missiles were fired from Iran. Qatari forces coordinated closely with the US, but the operation was 'Qatari led,' Al- Ansari told CNN. Seven missiles were intercepted over the Persian Gulf before reaching Qatari soil, he said. Another 11 were intercepted over Doha without causing damage and one landed in an uninhibited area of the base causing minimal damage. According to Trump, Iran had given the US early notice ahead of the attack. While Doha received intel from Washington, it did not receive any warning directly from the Iranians, according to Al-Ansari – though officials were well aware that the US bases in the region could be targeted. 'The Iranians told us months ago … if there was an attack by the US on Iranian soil that would make bases hosting American forces in the region legitimate targets,' Al-Ansari said. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that warning was reiterated to his Gulf counterparts in an Istanbul meeting a day before Iranian strikes on Qatar. Iran's National Security Council said after the intercepted attack that its strikes had posed 'no dangerous aspect to our friendly and brotherly country of Qatar and its noble people.' Still, Al-Ansari rejects speculation that Qatar – given its working relationship with Tehran – might have given a greenlight for the strikes in order to create an off-ramp for regional escalation. 'We do not take it lightly for our country to be attacked by missiles from any side and we would never do that as part of political posturing or a game in the region,' he said. 'We would not put our people in the line of danger. I would not put my daughter under missiles coming from the sky just to come out with a political outcome. This was a complete surprise to us,' Ansari said. In the moments after the attack, Trump called Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani telling him the Israelis were willing to agree to a ceasefire and asked him to do the same for the Iranians, according to Al-Ansari. 'As we were discussing how to retaliate to this attack … this is when we get a call from the United States that a possible ceasefire, a possible avenue to regional security had opened,' Ansari said. Doha's role as mediator quickly became key in the aftermath of the strikes. Qatar's chief negotiator Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi spoke to the Iranians while the Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was speaking to US Vice President JD Vance. Soon, 'we were able to secure a deal,' Al-Ansaris says – and in the nick of time. 'All options were on the table that night … we could have immediately retaliated or pulled back and say we're not talking to a country that sent 19 missiles our way. But we also realized that was a moment that could create momentum for peace in a region that hasn't been there for two years now,' Ansari said. Shortly after, Trump declared on social media that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel had been brokered.
