UPDATE - No Israeli response yet to Gaza ceasefire proposal: Qatar

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, ADDS DECK

By Hussien Elkabany and Rania Abu Shamala

DOHA / ISTANBUL (AA) - Qatar said Tuesday that Israel has not responded yet to a recent Gaza ceasefire proposal.

“We are in contact with all parties in pursuit of a ceasefire agreement, but there is no official Israeli response – neither acceptance, rejection, nor the presentation of an alternative proposal,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in comments carried by Al Jazeera television.

Last week, the Palestinian group Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal put forward by Egyptian and Qatari mediators. Israel, however, has not officially responded to the plan.

Ansari said Gaza mediators are on daily contacts to reach a ceasefire deal.

“We stress the need to urge Israel to respond and engage seriously,” he said. “We are awaiting an official response from Israel to the proposal.”

While reiterating commitment to continuing mediation efforts, Qatar called on the international community to pressure Israel to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal.

“It does not matter to Egypt or Qatar where the negotiations are held,” he said, after Israeli media suggested relocating the venue of the negotiations to another country.

“What Hamas agreed to is identical to what Israel had already agreed to. The ball is now in Israel’s court, and it seems Israel does not want to reach an agreement or even respond to the proposal.”

Ansari warned that Israel’s expanding escalation on the ground “will not lead to positive results.”

Israel has killed nearly 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.