ISTANBUL: Qatar's Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi, held discussions late Tuesday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the latest developments in mediation efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement in the Gaza Strip. Blinken arrived in the capital Doha from Egypt as part of a regional tour which also included Israel. His ninth visit comes following indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas which took place in Doha on Aug. 15 and 16. According to a statement from Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting between Al Khulaifi and Blinken focused on the 'strategic relationship between Qatar and the US, ways to support and strengthen it, and the latest developments in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories.' The talks also addressed ongoing joint mediation efforts to end the conflict in Gaza and ongoing tensions in the Middle East and emphasized the need for de-escalation in the region. Egypt is exp ected to host a new round of talks before the end of the week focusing on prisoner exchanges and halting the month-long conflict. On Tuesday, Blinken discussed the progress of Gaza negotiations with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency. The meeting followed Blinken's arrival in the new city of El Alamein, located northwest of Cairo, after visiting Israel. On the same day, Hamas dismissed recent comments by US President Joe Biden about the group's alleged withdrawal from a cease-fire agreement as 'misleading claims,' reaffirming its commitment to ending the conflict. The Israeli public broadcaster KAN later cited unnamed sources from the Israeli negotiating team who claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting to 'blow up' the negotiations and obstruct reaching a deal with Hamas. On Sunday, Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to maintaining military control over the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, while Israeli opp osition leader Yair Lapid accused him of stalling and undermining the negotiations. For months, the US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu's refusal to meet Hamas's demands to stop the war. Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The conflict has resulted in over 40,170 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and more than 92,740 injuries, according to local health authorities. The ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins. Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6. Source: Anadolu Agency
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