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Observer
a day ago
- Politics
- Observer
Fresh truce in Gaza likely
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 United States and Qatar just hours after the Islamic republic launched a salvo of missiles towards Doha, 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, Al 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 on 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 Al 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," Al 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," Al Ansari said. As part of such an agreement, the remaining hostages from Israel in Gaza are expected to be released and many Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are to be freed. — Agencies
Muscat Daily
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Muscat Daily
Iran launches missile attack on US base in Qatar
Muscat – Iran launched a missile attack late Monday on the American Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, claiming it was in response to US strikes on its nuclear facilities. Witnesses in Doha reported seeing missiles streak across the sky followed by loud explosions. Flares were visible as air defence systems at Al Udeid engaged the incoming projectiles. It remains unclear if any damage was sustained. Iranian state television hailed the strike as 'a mighty and successful response' to what it described as 'America's aggression'. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on social media before the attack: 'We neither initiated the war nor seek it. But we will not leave invasion to the great Iran without answer.' Shortly before the blasts, Qatar temporarily closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats of Iranian retaliation. Both the US and UK embassies in Qatar had earlier advised citizens to shelter. Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the missile attack as a 'violation of Qatar's sovereignty and airspace and the UN Charter'. It reported no injuries or casualties. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al Ansari said Qatari air defences successfully intercepted the missiles targeting the US base and warned that Qatar 'reserves the right to respond directly' in line with international law. Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that the operation, dubbed Annunciation of Victory, targeted US bases in both Qatar and Iraq. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed its forces launched the strike on Al Udeid. Al Udeid Air Base, near Doha, hosts the largest American military presence in the Middle East, with over 8,000 US personnel stationed there. Regional tensions remain high following the US bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday.
Observer
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Observer
Qatar says Palestinians to decide Gaza future
DOHA: Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza conflict, said on Tuesday that Palestinians -- not outsiders -- must decide the territory's future after the Israel-Hamas war. Foreign ministry spokesman Majed al Ansari told a Doha news conference that the issue was "a Palestinian question", after Israel insisted on removing Hamas and the United States proposed taking over the territory. "From our perspective, this is a Palestinian question on what happens post this conflict," said Ansari when asked about Israel's stated objective to eliminate Hamas. "It is a Palestinian question on who represents the Palestinians in an official capacity and also the political groups and parties in the political sphere," he said. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said earlier on Tuesday that negotiations for the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which Qatar helped broker, would begin this week. The second phase of the truce is meant to facilitate the release of all remaining hostages seized during October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war, and lead to a permanent end to the fighting. Saar said Israel demanded the "complete demilitarisation of Gaza" and would "not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other groups" in the territory, ruled by Hamas since 2007. US President Donald Trump has proposed a takeover of the Gaza Strip, under which its 2.4 million inhabitants would be moved to Egypt or Jordan. The plan has drawn widespread condemnation, with Arab states preparing a response. Trump's proposal has added strains to the fragile Gaza ceasefire, which has largely halted the violence since it took effect on January 19, after more than 15 months of war. The ongoing first phase of the truce, which is set to expire on March 1, has so far seen the release of 19 Israeli hostages in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinians in Israeli custody. More hostage-prisoner exchanges are expected before the end of the first phase, which has also allowed humanitarian aid into besieged Gaza. Hamas however has accused Israel of blocking the entry of prefabricated structures and heavy machinery to clear rubble. Ansari, the Qatari spokesman, said that "the aid the enters the Gaza Strip today is insufficient". "Using humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip in negotiations is a crime in and of itself." Efforts were underway to secure the release this week of all remaining living hostages eligible to be freed from Gaza under the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, an Israeli official source said on Tuesday. Of the 33 hostages set to be freed under phase one of the deal, 19 have already been released and Israel says eight are dead. That leaves just six living hostages slated for release in the current stage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Netanyahu is making tremendous efforts to release all six remaining living hostages" this week, and to secure the bodies of four others, the Israeli official source said. A Palestinian source close to the negotiations said that "a proposal was presented by the mediators in recent days" for Gaza militants "to deliver the bodies of several Israeli prisoners before Friday, and to increase the number" of living captives to be released during the seventh hostage-prisoner swap on Saturday. "The mediators are continuing their efforts as they aim for this step to create a positive atmosphere, insisting on the continuation of the ceasefire and the implementation of the agreement," the Palestinian source added. An extraordinary Arab League meeting on Gaza, initially set for next week, has been postponed to March 4, host Egypt said on Tuesday. The Egyptian foreign ministry said the new date was agreed with Arab League members as part of "substantive and logistical preparations" for the summit. On Thursday, Saudi Arabia is set to host the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to present their own plan for Gaza's reconstruction while ensuring that Palestinians remain on their land. — AFP
