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Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres expressed his gratitude to Qatar for its joint invaluable mediation work to end the tragic war in the Gaza Strip.In a press statement, Guterres said he is encouraged by the statement issued by Hamas announcing its readiness to release hostages and to engage in negotiations on the basis of the recent proposal presented by President of the United States of America Donald Trump.The UN Secretary-General urged all parties to seize the opportunity to end the war in Gaza and reiterated his consistent call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and unfettered humanitarian access.The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also thanked Qatar in particular and other Arab countries for their role in mediating a ceasefire in Gaza.In a post on X, she said: The US peace plan, already approved by Israel, supported by the European states, by many Islamic states, and by the Palestinian National Authority—thanks to the mediation of the Arab countries and in particular Qatar, which I wish to thank for its efforts—has also received an initial positive response from Hamas, which has first of all declared its willingness to release all the hostages within the framework of a ceasefire."We must all commit ourselves to ensuring that this extraordinary opportunity is seized."

Israel has not given any official response to the Hamas approved plan for settlement even though this plan agrees with almost 98% of Israeli proposals and demands in this regard, pointed out HE Dr Majed bin Mohamed al-Ansari, Adviser to the Prime Minister and Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Tuesday.Addressing the ministry’s weekly press briefing, he explained that both mediators - Egypt and Qatar - have been working tirelessly to end the escalating situation in Gaza and find a way out for the sufferings of the Palestinian people there.“However, it seems that the Israeli side is not taking the issue of peace settlement seriously and the situation on the ground has continued to deteriorate with the targeting of journalists, media persons, medics, aid workers and aid seekers, in addition to more killing of civilians and worsening the suffering of the Palestinian people on the ground,” he observed.Dr al-Ansari noted that both Qatar and Egypt are mainly concerned about ending this worsening situation and determined to continue the peaceful negotiations alongside all the other mediators and involved parties, especially the American side, regardless where and when the negotiations take place.Regarding the negative and provocative statements in the Israeli media that tend to worsen and escalate the situation, the Qatari official stressed that as mediators, Qatar is only concerned about the official Israeli response and such statements are of no serious concern.Further, no official response to Hamas proposal has been issued so far by the Israeli government, even though the plan has been there for more than 10 days with them. Dr al-Ansari further stressed the need for more pressure on the Israeli government by the international community to end the situation that has been taking a very dangerous turn on the humanitarian level.