Qatar’s ruling emir has said that Israel should not be given “a green light for unconditional killing”. This was Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani’s first public statement since Qatar started making efforts to bring about a ceasefire and mediate between Israel and Hamas.
“We say enough…,” the emir said during his annual speech to open the Gulf Arab state’s advisory Shura council, Reuters reported.
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He further said that Qatar calls for a “serious regional and international stance” against the dangerous escalation of the war, which “threatens the security of the region and the world”.
“We do not accept double standards and acting like the lives of Palestinian children aren’t accounted for, as if they don’t have faces or names,” Reuters quoted him as saying.
This comes close on the heels of Israel’s fresh warning to Hamas about “unrelenting attacks”. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said that it will bring the Hamas terrorist group to a “state of full dismantling – its leaders, its military branch, and its working mechanisms”.
“That is why we are striking, and eliminating high-ranking commanders and members, destroying infrastructure, and acting with great determination,” IDF Chief of the General Staff said in a new video posted on X (formerly Twitter).
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While world leaders have come out in support of Israel since the country came under Hamas attack on October 7, they have now asked Israeli forces to delay their ground offensive lest civilian casualties keep mounting.
The leaders of the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom on Sunday reiterated their support for Israel, but urged the country to adhere to international humanitarian law and protect civilians. US President Joe Biden also told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that henceforth, there will be a “continued flow” of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Israel has been striking Gaza with relentless rocket strikes in retaliation for Hamas’s October 7 attack, in which the terrorist group killed 1,400 Israelis and took more than 200 hostages. More than 6,000 people, with over 4,500 in Palestine alone, have been killed in the war so far.
Hamas, meanwhile, has released four hostages – two Americans were the first to be released, and on Monday, the terrorist group released two Israeli hostages. They have cited ‘humanitarian grounds’ to be the reason behind the release.