Egypt and Qatar renew support for Gaza ceasefire

Egypt and Qatar, have on Monday, April 14, 2025, expressed “grave concern” over the escalation of violence and deaths in the Israeli-besieged and -bombarded Palestinian territory.

They have continued to make continuing efforts to achieve a ceasefire.

Both countries are the leading intermediaries in talks to end the war on the Gaza Strip.

Cairo and Doha have reiterated their support for the Arab-backed Gaza reconstruction plan.

This was revealed in a joint statement released on Monday during a visit by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to Qatar.

The assertion comes in the face of calls by the United States and Israel for depopulating the territory.

Al-jazeera reports that Critics and rights groups have called this act, an act of ethnic cleansing.

The two countries also announced their intention to organise an international conference in Egypt.

This they say, is:

“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 would see the release of the remaining Israeli captives in exchange for allowing food and shelter into Gaza, an 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.

He also listed ending the war on Gaza as key to reaching an agreement, 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 emphasized the “centrality of the Palestinian cause for Arabs”.

They are 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.

The meeting held just 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.

It also imposed a total siege on the territory, cutting off all food and medical supplies to Palestinians there.

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 a local news agency.

Separately, Al Jazeera reported that a barrage of air strikes hit the Israeli-designated “safe area” al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.

The strike reportedly killed 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.

The military was to cut it 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.

This is 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.

It also rejected plans for Israel to control the distribution of humanitarian assistance.

This task according to media reports is 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.

The warrant of arrest was issued over alleged war crimes in Gaza, including using starvation as a weapon of war.

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