The United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has not had an immediate impact on ceasefire talks in Doha, mediator Qatar said on Tuesday.
Majed Al-Ansari © Mena Today
The United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has not had an immediate impact on ceasefire talks in Doha, mediator Qatar said on Tuesday.
The resolution demanded an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas, as well as the release of hostages. The United States abstained from the vote, angering ally Israel which had wanted Washington to veto it. The remaining 14 council members voted in favour.
"We haven't seen any immediate effect on the talks, they are ongoing as they were before, as the (UN) decision was taking place," said Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari during a press conference in Doha on Tuesday.
A source briefed on the talks earlier told Reuters that a delegation from Israel's Mossad spy agency, which had arrived in Qatar more than a week ago, was still engaging in discussions. A small Mossad team was returning to Israel from Doha for consultations on developments, the source added.
For weeks the sides have been discussing a potential truce of around 42 days during which around 40 Israeli hostages would be released in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Israel says it is willing to consider only a temporary pause in fighting; Hamas wants any deal to lead to an end to the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Tuesday Hamas had made "delusional" demands, which it said showed the Palestinians were not interested in a deal. Hamas has accused Israel of stalling at the talks while it carries out its military offensive.
The discussions, mediated by Egypt and Qatar, are continuing as a humanitarian crisis devastates Palestinians in Gaza with severe shortages of food, medicine and hospital care. Concerns are growing that famine will take hold.
The war was triggered when Hamas burst into southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages into the enclave, according to Israeli tallies. Israeli retaliated by pounding Gaza in a military offensive which has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza Health authorities.
Reporting by Andrew Mills in Doha and Ahmed Elimam and Clauda Tanios in Dubai
An Israeli precision strike hit a residential apartment building in Hazmieh - a predominantly Christian neighborhood east of Beirut - Monday afternoon, killing at least one person in what the IDF described as a targeted hit on a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite Al-Quds Force.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he had given orders to postpone any military strikes against Iranian power plants for five days, hours ahead of a deadline that threatened further escalation in the conflict now in its fourth week.
Israeli fighter jets struck the Dalafa Bridge twice Monday afternoon, targeting one of South Lebanon's most strategically significant crossings, a span over the Litani River that connects the districts of Hasbaya and Marjeyoun in the eastern border zone to the regions of Jezzine, Western Bekaa, Chouf and Sidon.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.