Egypt and Qatar are key intermediaries in consultations to end the war with the Gaza Strip, expressing “significant concern” over the escalation of violence and death in Israel’s beautiful Palestinian territory, highlighting their continued efforts to achieve a ceasefire.
In a joint statement released Monday when Egypt’s President Abdel Fatta El-Sisi visited Qatar, Cairo and Doha reiterated their support for the Arab-supported reconstruction plan.
The claims face US and Israel’s calls to abolish territory that critics and rights groups call ethnic cleansing.
The two countries also announced their intention to “collaborate with regional and international partners to coordinate humanitarian and development efforts to ensure improved living conditions for Palestinians within the strip.”
Later on Monday, officials said Hamas had rejected a ceasefire proposal passed on by Egypt, demanding Palestinian groups be disarmed.
The initiative calls for 45 days of calm as the rest of Israeli prisoners are released in exchange for allowing food and shelter to Gaza, an unidentified Hamas official told Al Jazeera Arabic.
“Our negotiation delegation was surprised that the proposal conveyed by Egypt contained explicit texts on disarming resistance,” the source said. “Egypt informed us that there was no agreement to stop the war without negotiating a disarmament of resistance.”
Officials added that the key to the group’s reaching an agreement with Egypt is to end the war with Gaza rather than to completely withdraw Israel and disarm Hamas.
An Egyptian-Qatar statement highlighted the need to “ensure urgent humanitarian assistance and support reconstruction efforts” in Gaza.
Qatar and Egypt emphasized “the centrality of the Arab Palestinian cause” and made East Jerusalem the capital in 1967, calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state on the border (Gaza and the occupied West Bank).
Elsi met with Qatar Emil Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani a few days after President Donald Trump updated his call to remove all Palestinians from Gaza.
Israel resumed its attacks on Gaza last month, imposing a complete siege on its territory, blocking all food and medical supplies on the Palestinians.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a three-stage ceasefire in January, leading to a six-week suspension in the battle.
However, after the end of the first phase of seeing Hamas release dozens of Israeli prisoners of war, Israel refused to negotiate in the second phase of the agreement or committed to the end of the war.
Since resuming the attack, Israel has killed more than 1,600 Palestinians and regularly targeted medical facilities, private shelters and aid workers.
At least six civilians were killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza’s Taffa district on Monday, according to Palestinian News Agency WAFA.
Separately, Tarekuabuatzum in Al Jazeera reported that he had crashed into an Israel-designated “safe area” Almawasi in southern Gaza, killing at least one person.
In addition to its bombing, Israel has once again forced the Palestinians to thousands.
On Saturday, Israeli forces announced the establishment of a new “corridor” to block Rafa, the southernmost city of Gaza, from other parts of the territory, raising fears that Israel might be trying to annex the region.
Israeli forces have killed at least 50,983 Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023, according to territorial health authorities. Thousands more have been estimated to be missing and dead under the tiled rub.
The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 38 people were killed in the Israeli attack on Sunday.
UN experts and major rights groups accused Israel of genocide against Palestinians.
The Gaza government’s media office on Monday accused Israel of imposing a “systemic hunger” policy against Palestinians, rejecting Israel’s plan to manage humanitarian distributions.
“We warn against plans that Israeli occupation is seeking to pursue by establishing or using security companies and suspicious parties to distribute humanitarian assistance,” the office said.
He added that the plan aims to advance Israel’s “colonial agenda” under the guise of humanitarian assistance.
Last year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
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