Qatar urges Israel, Hamas to seize 'window of opportunity' for Gaza truce

Gaza mediators are engaging with Israel and Hamas to build on the momentum from this week's ceasefire with Iran and work towards a truce in the Palestinian territory, Qatar foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said.

Israel and Iran on Tuesday agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the United States and Qatar just hours after the Islamic Republic launched a salvo of missiles toward the wealthy Gulf state, targeting the American military base hosted there.

The unprecedented attack on Qatari soil followed Washington's intervention into a days-long war between Israel and Iran, which saw U.S. warplanes strike Iranian nuclear facilities, prompting promises of retaliation from Tehran.

In an interview with AFP on Friday, Ansari said Doha -- with fellow Gaza mediators in Washington and Cairo -- was now "trying to use the momentum that was created by the ceasefire between Iran and Israel to restart the talks over Gaza."

"If we don't utilize this window of opportunity and this momentum, it's an opportunity lost amongst many in the near past. We don't want to see that again," the spokesman, who is also an adviser to Qatar's prime minister, said.

U.S. President Donald Trump voiced optimism on Friday about a new ceasefire in Gaza, saying an agreement involving Israel and Hamas could come as early as next week.

Mediators have been engaged in months of back-and-forth negotiations with the warring parties aimed at ending 20 months of the war in Gaza, with Ansari explaining there were no current talks between the sides but that Qatar was "heavily involved in talking to every side separately."

AFP