DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar’s emir on Tuesday called on the U.N. Security Council to force Israel to return to the negotiating table over the war in Gaza, saying the inaction by the international community in halting the conflict was “shameful”.
“It is shameful for the international community to allow this heinous crime to continue for nearly two months, during which the systematic and deliberate killing of innocent civilians continues, including women and children,” Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said in a speech to Gulf leaders gathered in he Qatari capital Doha for a regional summit.
Qatar, where several political leaders of Hamas are based, has been leading negotiations between the Palestinian militant group and Israel.
Those talks led to a truce that ultimately lasted for seven days before hostilities resumed on Friday. During the truce, Hamas released dozens of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and Israel allowed humanitarian aid to flow into the coastal strip.
Sheikh Tamim said Qatar was working with both sides to repair the deal.
“We are constantly working to renew (the truce) and to alleviate the burden of our people in the Gaza Strip, but truces are not an alternative for a comprehensive ceasefire,” he said.
Israel launched its assault to wipe out Hamas in retaliation for an Oct. 7 cross-border attack when militants killed 1,200 people and seized 240 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
In eight weeks of warfare, the Gaza health ministry said at least 15,899 Palestinians, 70% of them women or under 18s, have been killed.
In November, the 15-member UN security council overcame an impasse and called for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses in fighting between Israel and Hamas for a “sufficient number of days” to allow aid access.
(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi and Clauda Tanios and Nayera Abdallah; Writing by Andrew Mills; Editing by Alex Richardson and Miral Fahmy)
