Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari stated on Tuesday that Israel does not want an agreement to stop the fire in the Gaza Strip, emphasizing that Qatar continues its efforts to end the war of extermination waged by Tel Aviv against Palestinians in the Strip. Al-Ansari said, “We are communicating with all parties seeking an agreement to stop the fire (between Hamas and Tel Aviv), and there is no official Israeli response either accepting, rejecting, or proposing an alternative.” He added that communication between mediators is daily and stressed the need to urge Israel to respond seriously. He called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop the war, affirming Qatar’s commitment to its efforts until the end of the war and welcoming all efforts in this regard.

Al-Ansari noted that it does not matter to Egypt or Qatar (the mediators) where the negotiations are held, referring to Israeli media reports about the possibility of moving talks to a new country. He said, “What Hamas agreed upon matches what Israel agreed upon, and the ball is now in Israel’s court, which seems unwilling to reach an agreement or respond to the proposal.” He stressed that Israeli escalation on the ground is expanding and will not lead to positive results. On Tuesday, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said Hamas’s response to the mediators’ ceasefire proposal includes 98% of what the US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff suggested, according to the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. Last week, Hamas confirmed its acceptance of a proposal presented by mediators without providing further details.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation stated that the proposal is very similar to Witkoff’s basic proposal, which includes releasing 10 live prisoners and 18 bodies in exchange for 60 days of ceasefire and negotiations to end the Israeli war in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ignored mediators’ wait for Tel Aviv’s response to the Gaza ceasefire proposal and approved a plan to occupy the city despite international warnings of its dangers. Hamas has repeatedly expressed readiness to release Israeli prisoners “all at once” in exchange for ending the war of extermination, Israeli army withdrawal from Gaza, and releasing Palestinian prisoners. However, Netanyahu, wanted by international justice, evades by imposing new conditions, including disarming Palestinian factions, and insists on reoccupying Gaza.

Tel Aviv estimates there are 50 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, including 20 alive, while more than 10,800 Palestinians are held in its prisons suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, which has caused many deaths, according to human rights reports. With US support, Israel has committed genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in 62,819 Palestinian martyrs, 158,629 injured, mostly children and women, over 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and famine that killed 303 Palestinians, including 117 children as of Tuesday.