Egypt and Qatar, the leading intermediaries in talks to end the war on the Gaza Strip, have expressed “grave concern” over the escalation of violence and deaths in the Israeli-besieged and -bombarded Palestinian territory, stressing continuing efforts to achieve a ceasefire.
In a joint statement released on Monday during a visit by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to Qatar, Cairo and Doha reiterated their support for the Arab-backed Gaza reconstruction plan.
The assertion comes in the face of calls by the United States and Israel for depopulating the territory, which critics and rights groups have called ethnic cleansing.
The two countries also announced their intention to organise an international conference in Egypt “in cooperation with regional and international partners, to coordinate humanitarian and development efforts to ensure improved living conditions for the Palestinian people in the Strip”.
Later on Monday, an official said Hamas rejected a ceasefire proposal conveyed by Egypt that would require the Palestinian group to disarm.
The initiative calls for 45 days of calm that would see the release of the remaining Israeli captives in exchange for allowing food and shelter into Gaza, the unidentified Hamas official told Al Jazeera Arabic.
“Our negotiating delegation was surprised that the proposal conveyed by Egypt includes explicit text about disarming the resistance,” the source said. “Egypt informed us that there will be no agreement to stop the war without negotiating the disarmament of the resistance”.
The official added that the group stressed to Egypt that the key to reaching an agreement is the full Israeli withdrawal and ending the war on Gaza, not disarming Hamas.
For its part, the Egyptian-Qatari statement stressed the need to “ensure the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid to civilians, and support reconstruction efforts” in Gaza.
Qatar and Egypt emphasised the “centrality of the Palestinian cause for Arabs”, calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders – in Gaza and the occupied West Bank – with East Jerusalem as its capital.
El-Sisi met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, days after US President Donald Trump renewed his call for removing all Palestinians from Gaza.
With full US support, Israel resumed its assault on Gaza last month and imposed a total siege on the territory, cutting off all food and medical supplies to Palestinians there.
Israel and Hamas had agreed a three-phased ceasefire in January, leading to a six-week pause in the fighting.
But after the end of the first stage, which saw Hamas release dozens of Israeli captives, Israel refused to negotiate over the second phase of the agreement or commit to a permanent end to the war.
Since restarting the offensive, Israel has killed more than 1,600 Palestinians, regularly targeting medical facilities, civilian shelters and aid workers.
On Monday, an Israeli attack on Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood killed at least six civilians, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Separately, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported that a barrage of air strikes hit the Israeli-designated “safe area” al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, killing at least one person.
In addition to its bombardments, Israel has again been forcibly displacing Palestinians in their thousands.
On Saturday, the Israeli military announced the establishment of a new “corridor” to cut off Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, from the rest of the territory, raising fears that Israel may be looking to annex the area.
Since the start of the war in October 2023, the Israeli military has killed at least 50,983 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health authorities in the territory. Thousands more have gone missing and are presumed to be dead under the rubble.
The Gaza Ministry of Health said at least 38 people were killed by Israeli attacks on Sunday.
United Nations experts and leading rights groups have accused Israel of carrying out a genocide against Palestinians.
The Gaza Government Media Office on Monday accused Israel of imposing a policy of “systemic starvation” against Palestinians and rejected plans for Israel to control the distribution of humanitarian assistance – a task currently undertaken by aid groups and United Nations agencies.
“We warn against the plan that the Israeli occupation is trying to pursue by establishing or using security companies and suspicious parties to distribute humanitarian aid,” the office said.
It added that the plan aims to advance Israel’s “colonial agenda” under the guise of humanitarian aid.
Last year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, including using starvation as a weapon of war.
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