Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani on Sunday confirmed that there is some progress on the ceasefire negotiations that are aimed at putting an end to the Israel-Hamas war. The negotiations at Qatar’s capital city Doha came after a Thursday meeting involving Israeli Mossad director David Barnea and the Qatari Prime Minister at a high level.
Sheikh Mohammed referred to the situation as “a bit of progress” during questioning on the outcome of the meeting. Yet, despite these diplomatic attempts, the human cost in Gaza keeps increasing. Hospitals in Gaza received the bodies of 51 Palestinians over the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 52,243, per the Gaza Ministry of Health. The number includes bodies that were retrieved from the rubble of earlier aerial bombardments, with close to 700 bodies recently received.
Israel’s assault on Gaza, which resumed on March 18 after a temporary ceasefire, has escalated, and troops have extended their hold, especially in the southern city of Rafah. This has resulted in Israel taking control of approximately 50% of Gaza’s territory. The new offensive has been accompanied by a tightening blockade, excluding the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza from essential imports, such as food and medicine. Aid agencies predict that stocks will run low shortly, and most children are now critically malnourished.
Israel’s goal is still to put pressure on Hamas to release hostages captured in the October 7, 2023, attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to keep the offensive going until Hamas is either eliminated or disarmed and all hostages are released. Hamas, on the other hand, has called for a prisoner swap, a permanent ceasefire, and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
