Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari
Doha, Qatar: Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari has said that it is necessary to stop Israeli war on Gaza to curtail its spread in the region.
“These regional repercussions cannot be dealt with separately and in isolation from what is happening in Gaza. The Red Sea issue will not be resolved militarily or security-wise, but rather politically by stopping the war in Gaza, and the rest of these repercussions will decline accordingly,” he said in a media briefing yesterday. He said that the Qatari position is clear and stresses the need to clearly contain this crisis. “Its regional expansion will increase tension in the region and the world.” He added: “What is happening in the Red Sea represents a danger to international navigation and cannot be dealt with as a separate issue from the war in Gaza and its developments.”
The international community is required, he said, if it has a real desire to end regional tensions in the Red Sea, Iraq and elsewhere, to take a clear decision to put pressure on stopping this war causing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“But if this does not happen and the Israeli war machine continues to crush the Palestinian citizens in the Gaza Strip, this will only result in more regional repercussions.”
Regarding Qatari mediation efforts to stop the Israeli war on Gaza, he said that the efforts are currently continuing in coordination with all parties, expressing his hope that the negotiations will witness progress in the coming days.
Regarding reports of presenting proposal to remove leaders of Hamas movement from the Gaza Strip, Dr. Al Ansari said that such false information was being spread through the media by various parties whose goal is to sabotage the negotiation efforts.
He stressed that Qatar, from day one, has been searching for possible opportunities in the negotiation process to achieve an agreement, and such information aims to sabotage the negotiating path and must be cautioned against.
“The negotiating process is precise and sensitive and is taking place in the most difficult circumstances currently, so we must leave it room to succeed and achieve its primary goal, which is to stop this war.”
He said Qatar seeks that the largest possible amount of aid enters Gaza despite the logistical and security challenges associated with routine procedures. He added that humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip continues through Al Arish Airport where 62 planes arrived, carrying 18 tonnes of aid. “It brings the amount of aid provided by Qatar to 1,897 tonnes.”
Also, he said, 401 people have been evacuated so far, including Qatar residency holders, people with special cases, and patients, indicating that evacuations are continuing in coordination with Egyptian officials. Regarding Sudan, he said Qatar has been working to support regional and international mediation efforts in Sudan since the first day of the crisis and is urging the need to stop these confrontations, which only bring more suffering to the brotherly Sudanese people. “We look with great sorrow and pain at what is happening in Sudan, with which we enjoy deep relations at all levels, and we hope to see an end to this crisis,” he added.
