Qatari Foreign Ministry: We see an opportunity to reach a "truce in Gaza"

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said that mediators are communicating with Israel and Hamas to take advantage of this week's ceasefire between Iran and Israel to push for a truce in the Gaza Strip.

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"If we do not seize this opportunity and this momentum, it will be a missed opportunity, one of many that have been available in the recent past. We do not want to witness that again," Al-Ansari said in an interview with Agence France-Presse.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that a ceasefire agreement in Gaza was imminent and could be reached next week, adding, "We are working on the Gaza Strip issue and seeking a solution."

Al Ansari, who is also an advisor to the Prime Minister, added: "If we do not seize this opportunity and momentum, it will be a missed opportunity among many that have been available in the recent past. We do not want to witness this again."

Trump expressed optimism about the possibility of establishing a new ceasefire in Gaza, indicating the possibility of reaching an agreement as early as "next week."

Mediators have been engaged in months of negotiations aimed at ending the 20-month war in Gaza, and Al-Ansari explained that while there are no current talks between the two sides, Qatar has been "very involved in talking to each side separately."

When Trump took office in January, a truce was reached, but it collapsed two months later, on March 18, after the occupation violated the ceasefire agreement, with Israel intensifying its military operations in Gaza.

"We saw American pressure and what it can achieve," Al-Ansari said, referring to the truce that saw the release of dozens of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The Qatari official added, especially in the wake of the US announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, that it is "not unlikely" that US pressure will achieve a new truce in Gaza.

He stressed: "We are working closely with them to ensure that the international community as a whole, and especially the United States, exerts appropriate pressure to ensure that both parties sit at the negotiating table."