Qatar welcomes Ramadan ceasefire in Gaza

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Monitoring: According to a statement issued by the ministry, Qatar hopes this will be a step towards a permanent cessation of hostilities in Gaza, “especially in light of the catastrophic humanitarian conditions which civilians, including children and women are suffering from.”
The ministry stressed the need to comply with the implementation of the resolution, especially stopping the hostilities, facilitating the urgent and unhindered entry of humanitarian aid to all areas of Gaza, and positively engaging in the ongoing negotiations.
“In this context, the ministry reaffirms the continuation of mediation by the State of Qatar in cooperation with its partners to stop the war on Gaza and address its humanitarian repercussions,” the statement read.
“The ministry expresses the State of Qatar’s hope that the vote of 14 countries in favor of the resolution will constitute a fundamental shift in the international community’s awareness of the seriousness of the tragic situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Gaza Strip in particular, thereby enhancing international efforts to apply the two-state solution and resume the peace process on the basis of international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative,” the statement read.
The ministry also reiterated Qatar’s firm position in support of legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Qatar has played a key role in facilitating and mediating talks between Hamas and Israel over the past few months in the hope of reaching an agreement on a Gaza truce and hostage-prisoner swap.
On Sunday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman held talks in Doha with UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths to discuss ways to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip.
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of all hostages after the United States abstained from the vote.
The remaining 14 council members voted for the resolution, which was proposed by the 10 elected members of the body. There was a round of applause in the council chamber after the vote.
“The Palestinian people has suffered greatly. This bloodbath has continued for far too long. It is our obligation to put an end to this bloodbath before it is too late,” Algeria’s U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama told the council after the vote.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the failure of the U.S. to veto the resolution was a “clear retreat” from its previous position and would hurt Israel’s war efforts and bid to release more than 130 hostages still held by Hamas.
“Our vote does not, and I repeat that does not represent a shift in our policy,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “Nothing has changed about our policy. Nothing.”
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which some 1,200 people were killed.
More than 32,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 74,500 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.