UN chief, Qatari PM stress need for Mideast de-escalation

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani have stressed the need to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

During a phone conversation, they discussed the developments in the Gaza Strip, "especially the joint mediation efforts to end the war on the grip," the statement said.

Guterres voiced his appreciation for Qatar's continuous efforts "aimed at a just, comprehensive, and sustainable solution to the Palestine issue," it added.

Qatar, the United States and Egypt mediated a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas that ended in late November 2023. However, subsequent mediation efforts over the past few months have not yielded ideal results.

A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations took place in Doha on Thursday and Friday, following which the three mediators issued a joint statement announcing that the talks have made "constructive" progress and that relevant parties would continue their efforts in the coming days to negotiate the details of the deal's implementation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office expressed gratitude for the mediators' efforts and hope that they would lead Hamas to accept the terms of a proposal made in late May.

Meanwhile, Hamas, which did not participate directly, accused Israel of adding new conditions to a previously supported proposal, and accused the U.S. administration of trying to create a "false positive atmosphere," expressing skepticism about the negotiations' outcome.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday and will meet on Monday with senior Israeli leaders including Netanyahu, a senior State Department official said. After leaving Israel, Blinken will visit Egypt.

Gaza-based health authorities said on Sunday in a press statement that, during the previous 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 25 people and wounded 72 others, bringing the total death toll to 40,099 and injuries to 92,609 since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in October 2023.

Many victims remain buried under rubble and on roads beyond the reach of medical staff and civil defense crews, it added.

(With input from agencies)