Qatar and Egypt are still waiting for the official response of the Israeli side to the Hamas proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, said Dr Majed bin Mohamed al-Ansari, advisor to the Prime Minister and Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, affirmed Tuesday during the weekly media briefing.

"There is no set time frame for the response, but we have heard that Israel is studying the matter, and we hope for a quick and positive reply," he noted while explaining that the Hamas proposal draws a path toward reaching a comprehensive agreement to end the war with a temporary ceasefire for 60 days, during which a number of prisoners and hostages would be exchanged, alongside an Israeli redeployment under such agreement, accompanied by the intensive entry of humanitarian aid.

HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, is in contact with the US envoy and that the atmosphere is positive, al-Ansari pointed out.

He stressed that: “We are now at a critical humanitarian moment. If we do not reach an agreement now, we will face a humanitarian catastrophe that will dwarf all the previous ones. For this reason, Qatar, in cooperation with Egypt and all international parties, including the United States, is working to reach any form of ceasefire and to allow aid into the Strip.

Al-Ansari further stated that the proposal Hamas agreed to largely agrees with what Israel had previously accepted. He clarified that there are no real guarantees on the ground other than both parties’ commitment to implement the agreement. First they have to agree on the clauses of the agreement and then the technical practical steps will be implemented. This proposal can be considered a continuation of similar previous initiatives.

Besides, he expressed his hopes for reaching an agreement on Gaza, stressing that if one is reached, it must be implemented immediately. He underlined that the goal is to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible, adding: “We are keen to stop the fighting by any means, and within that framework, we are pushing for a comprehensive agreement.”

Al-Ansari also stressed that the peaceful mediation efforts of Qatar and its partners are set to go on until a peaceful resolution and agreement is reached between the parties.

Regarding the recent US-Russia Summit in Alaska, he stressed that Qatar has always been welcoming the peaceful efforts to end this conflict and Qatar supports all efforts that would lead to end this crisis. Besides, Qatar is continuously working through the Ministry of International cooperation to help reunite the Russian and Ukrainian children with their families in their respective countries.

Regarding the efforts to negotiate a peace deal with the Congolese government and M23 rebels, he pointed out that the efforts are going on constantly until a tangible peace deal, and Qatar is actively working on all the related peace negotiations to help the parties of the conflict reach a peaceful deal.