DOHA: Qatar will send a delegation to Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday (today) with a view to securing a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
In a statement, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the delegation will head to Cairo, Egypt today to resume indirect talks between the two sides. It further said that they hoped the talks will culminate in reaching a deal for an urgent and permanent trice in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel’s media reported that Israeli forces have taken control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which borders Egypt in Gaza.
Earlier, the spokesperson of the Gaza border authority has also said that the closure of the crossing between Egypt and Gaza due to the presence of Israeli tanks. Reuters stated that the flow of aid through the crossing is also stopped.
The development takes place as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that a ground invasion of Rafah would be “intolerable,” calling on all sides “to go an extra mile” to reach a ceasefire deal. In a statement Guterres said that this is an opportunity that cannot be missed, and a ground operation in Rafah would also be intolerable due to its devastating humanitarian impact, and because of its destabilizing impact in the entire region.
