Qatar and Egypt, key players in the ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, have questioned the future of negotiations following the Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination.
Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in what the Palestinian group described as “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence”.
“Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani wrote on X.
“Peace needs serious partners & a global stance against the disregard for human life.”
Political assassinations & continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side? Peace needs serious partners & a global stance against the disregard for human life.
— محمد بن عبدالرحمن (@MBA_AlThani_) July 31, 2024
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a “dangerous Israeli escalation policy” over the past two days had undermined efforts to broker an end to the fighting in Gaza where almost 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks since October last year.
“The coincidence of this regional escalation with the lack of progress in the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza increases the complexity of the situation and indicates the absence of Israeli political will to calm it down,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.
“It undercuts the strenuous efforts made by Egypt and its partners to stop the war in the Gaza Strip and put an end to the human suffering of the Palestinian people.”
Qatar, Egypt and the US have repeatedly tried to reach a ceasefire in the war on Gaza. But a final deal to halt the war and release captives held in Gaza, as well as Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, has been complicated and there was no sign of progress at the latest round of talks in Rome on Sunday.
Nour Odeh, a political analyst told Al Jazeera that it would be very difficult for the ceasefire talks to have any traction at this point.
“Maybe there wouldn’t be a dramatic change in the dynamics on the ground in Gaza when it comes to fighting, but certainly the prospects of a ceasefire urgently needed … are more distant than they have ever been,” she said.
In Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, Palestinians mourning the killing of Haniyeh shared similar sentiments.
“This man [Haniyeh] could have signed the prisoner exchange deal with the Israelis,” Saleh al-Shannar, who was displaced from his home in northern Gaza, told The Associated Press.
“Why did they kill him? They killed peace, not Ismail Haniyeh.”
Nour Abu Salam, a displaced woman, said the killing showed that Israel does not want to end the war and establish peace in the region. “By assassinating Haniyeh, they are destroying everything,” she said.
‘Gaza ceasefire essential’
After the killing of the Hamas leader, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a Gaza ceasefire is essential to prevent the conflict from spreading to the rest of the region.
“We’ve been working from day one not only to try to get to a better place in Gaza, but also to prevent the conflict from spreading, whether it’s the north with Lebanon and Hezbollah, whether it’s the Red Sea with the Houthis, whether it’s Iran, Syria, Iraq, you name it,” Blinken told a forum in Singapore.
“A big key to trying to make sure that doesn’t happen, and that we can move to a better place, is getting the ceasefire.”
According to US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, Blinken has spoken to Qatar’s prime minister and emphasised “the importance of continuing to work to reach a ceasefire”.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials, who have not yet commented on Haniyeh’s assassination, have said that ceasefire talks will continue.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office said on Wednesday that he had stressed the importance of continuing to work towards reaching a deal to release the remaining 115 Israeli and foreign captives in a phone call with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin.
Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told reporters in an online briefing that Israel remained committed to the negotiations.
