Sawt Falasteen - Gaza mediator Qatar bows out, source says, in sign of impasse

The Gulf emirate, which has hosted Hamas's political leadership since 2012 with the blessing of the United States, has been involved in months of protracted diplomacy aimed at ending the war triggered by the Palestinian group's October 7 attack on Israel last year.

But the talks, also mediated by Cairo and Washington, have repeatedly hit snags since a one-week truce in November 2023 -- the only one so far -- with both sides trading blame for the impasse.

"The Qataris informed both the Israelis and Hamas that as long as there is a refusal to negotiate a deal in good faith, they cannot continue to mediate," said the diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The source added that Doha had already "notified both sides, Israel and Hamas, as well as the US administration" of its decision.

"The Qataris conveyed to the US administration that they would be ready to re-engage in mediation when both sides... demonstrate a sincere willingness to return to the negotiating table," said the source.

There was no official confirmation from Qatar or any comment from Egypt and the United States.

With Gaza truce talks at a deadlock, the Hamas political office in Doha "no longer serves its purpose", said the source, without specifying whether Qatar intends to ask leaders of the Palestinian group to leave the country.

During talks over the past year, both Qatari and US officials indicated that Hamas would remain in Doha as long as its presence offered a viable channel of communication.

A senior Hamas official in Doha told AFP that "we have not received any request to leave Qatar".

- 'Insufficient willingness' -

Despite last November's truce, when scores of Hamas-held hostages were released, successive rounds of negotiations have failed to end the war.

To break the deadlock near the end of US President Joe Biden's term and in the run-up to this week's US elections, Washington and Doha last month announced fresh in-person talks to explore new options.

A Hamas official said earlier in November that the group had received a proposal from Egypt and Qatar for a short-term truce but had rejected it.

The diplomatic source said Saturday Qatar had "concluded that there is insufficient willingness from either side" to bridge gaps in negotiations.

A crucial hurdle has been Hamas's insistence that Israel withdraw completely from Gaza, which Israeli officials have repeatedly rejected.

The talks have become "more about politics and elections rather than a serious attempt to secure peace", the source said.

On the ground in the besieged Gaza Strip, the fighting showed no signs of abating Saturday.

The territory's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes killed at least 14 Palestinians overnight.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP at least nine people, including children and women, were killed in a strike that hit tents housing displaced Palestinians in the southern area of Khan Yunis, a toll confirmed by the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Another strike killed five people in Gaza City in the north, Bassal said.

Israel's military said its troops killed "dozens of terrorists" in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza, where it has been conducting a sweeping air and ground operation for more than a month.

- Famine in Gaza -

A UN-backed assessment issued Saturday said famine is looming in northern Gaza because of a "rapidly deteriorating situation" with increased hostilities and a near-complete halt in food aid.

"Famine thresholds may have already been crossed or else will be in the near future," said the alert from the Famine Review Committee.

The Israeli military questioned the report's credibility, denouncing "partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests".

The Hamas attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 43,552 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

Out of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attack, 97 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

The conflict has expanded to Lebanon, where Israel intensified its air campaign in September and later sent in ground troops after a year of cross-border clashes with Hamas ally Hezbollah.

Hezbollah said it attacked targets in northern Israel and also downed an Israeli drone over south Lebanon.

They are among more than 2,700 people killed in Lebanon since September 23, according to ministry figures.

Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and Hamas, warned that the war could spread beyond the Middle East.

"The world should know that in case of the expansion of war... insecurity and instability can spread to other regions, even far away," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in speech aired on state TV.

Q.Jaber--SF-PST