German President Frank Walter Steinmeier was left waiting for 30 minutes on the Tarmac as no Qatari official came to receive him at the Qatar airport.
The video making rounds on social media shows, that the President was seen standing at the door of an A-350 soon after touching down in Qatar.
Qatari authorities had rolled out the red carpet and arranged a military guard of honor for him but no Qatari official was seen at the airport to welcome him.
Germany’s ambassador to the country Lothar FriesChalder was also seen waiting for the Qatari official.
Later the Minister of the State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi arrived at the airport to welcome the German President.
He then left for a meeting with Emir Qatar Tamim bin Hammad al Thani. Qatar is the last stop on his three-country Middle-East tour. Before visiting Qatar, he visited Oman and Israel.
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Qatar has emerged as the key mediator between Hamas and Israel. The Middle Eastern country has played an important part in bringing the effect humanitarian pause and ensuring the release of prisoners and hostages from the captivity of both Israel and Hamas.
The ongoing deal between Hamas and Israel has also seen a stop in the airstrikes on Gaza by Israel that continued for more than a month.
Read more: WHO issues warning regarding Gaza’s health situation
The recent diplomatic scene in Qatar comes with no explanation, however, according to the German media, the flight of the German President arrived a little bit earlier than scheduled. This perhaps explains the later arrival of the Qatari official.
Amidst the recent fragile truce between Israel and Hamas, there’s a temporary calm in Gaza, allowing humanitarian organisations to intensify the delivery of crucial supplies. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) underscores a pressing concern: Gaza’s delicate health infrastructure is now in substantial jeopardy, heightening the risk of epidemics and complicating the detection of infectious diseases.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a press conference convened in Geneva, has highlighted the immediate necessity of protecting the remaining capacity of the health system in this war-torn enclave.
According to Tedros, only 15 out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are still functioning, and they are completely overwhelmed. The conflict has taken a toll on the healthcare facilities, with only three out of the 25 hospitals north of the Wadi Gaza River operating at the most basic level.