Hamas is willing to cede control of Gaza but have yet to acknowledge the need to disarm, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman said on Wednesday, adding that renewed violence in the strip is “very disappointing and frustrating for us”.
Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Sheikh Mohammed sounded a cautious note and refrained from accusing Israel of breaking the ceasefire. He instead pointed to the initial assault on Israeli soldiers, describing it as “a violation by the Palestinian party”.
“Yesterday’s [violence] was honestly something that is very disappointing and frustrating for us to see,” he said. “We are trying to contain it and we mobilised right away after this in full co-ordination with the United States. And we have seen that the US also is committed to the deal, so the ceasefire still holds as of now.”
He said Doha is “trying to push” Hamas to the point where they acknowledge they need to disarm and move to the next stage of the ceasefire. Disarmament that “will not be an easy process”, he added, noting that other factions also need to disarm.
Sheikh Mohammed said Hamas is willing to give up governance of Gaza.
“I don't see that the governance will be a challenge, because this is something that we've been we've been very clear with Hamas, and Hamas’s response was very clear to us that they are willing to give up the governance,” he said.
Qatar had heard “some discussions” suggesting Hamas is trying to delay the return of bodies of hostages under the terms of the ceasefire.
“We made it very clear for them that this is part of the commitment that we needed to be fulfilled,” he said.
Israel said it launched a wave of strikes on Tuesday after a reservist was killed in Rafah when his engineering vehicle was hit by gunfire. Hamas said its fighters had “no connection” to the attack and reaffirmed its commitment to the US-backed ceasefire.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said Israeli attacks had reportedly hit schools, homes and tents for internally displaced people within the Palestinian territory.
Mr Turk called for all parties in the conflict to act in good faith and implement the ceasefire, and urged other countries to do everything in their power to ensure compliance.
Sheikh Mohammed said Hamas had conveyed its willingness to relinquish control of Gaza, and that Qatar was trying to impress upon the group to recognise the need to disarm.
“We are trying to push them in order to get to a point where they acknowledge that they need to disarm and move on to the next stage,” he said.
He added that Qatar had heard “some discussions” suggesting Hamas was attempting to delay the return of bodies under the terms of the ceasefire. “We made it very clear for them that this is part of the commitment that we needed to be fulfilled,” he said.
Last month, an Israeli air strike inside Qatar targeting Hamas leaders involved in truce talks drew a rare rebuke from US President Donald Trump, who subsequently intensified pressure for a Gaza ceasefire. The strike killed a Qatari security guard, marking the first death of a Gulf national in an Israeli attack.
“The attack itself has shown the US that all red lines are being crossed in the region,” Sheikh Mohammed said, calling it “a shock but a game-changer for the entire region”.
He also addressed the issue of Palestinian prisoners, including prominent Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, saying questions about their continued detention should be directed to Israel.
“There are tens or maybe hundreds of Marwan Barghoutis in Israeli prisons who have been prosecuted, tortured and mistreated, and no one is talking about it,” Sheikh Mohammed said. “We’ve seen the reports coming out of these prisons, some of them are being held without even trial, and they need to be released. But the Israelis have their own calculations.”
He said many Palestinian prisoners face dire conditions.
“There are plenty of humanitarian situations, some of the prisoners have spent maybe 40 years in Israeli prisons. Some are stage-four cancer patients, or blind, or paralysed, yet they are still there because of the symbolism of their names,” he said.
Sheikh Mohammed added Israel should be held accountable for what is happening in its prisons.
“I don’t know if any of you have watched the videos of what Israel’s minister [of National Security Itamar] Ben Gvir is doing to prisoners. It is very inhumane and barbaric, and this should never be acceptable in our world today,“ he said.
