Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said on Tuesday that the Israeli military operation in Rafah “set us back” in negotiations on a truce in Gaza.

Al Thani, who also holds the position of Foreign Minister, said during the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, “In the past few weeks, we have seen some increasing momentum, but unfortunately things did not move in the right direction and we are now almost in a state of stagnation. Of course, what happened in Rafah "It took us back."

For months, Qatar, which has hosted the Hamas political office in Doha since 2012, led mediation alongside Egypt and the United States between Israel and the Palestinian movement.

Despite Hamas announcing its approval of the latest formula proposed by the mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Israel continued its military operation in Rafah, despite American warnings also against launching a large-scale attack on the city located in the southern Gaza Strip, which is crowded with displaced people.

The Qatari Prime Minister said, “There is no clarity about how to stop the war from the Israeli side.

“I don’t think they are considering that as an option (...) even when we are talking about an agreement and a possible ceasefire.”

He added that Israeli politicians were indicating "through their statements that they will remain there, that they will continue the war. There is no clarity about what Gaza will look like after that."

Later, the spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majed Al-Ansari, said in a weekly press conference, “The brothers in the Gaza Strip have not received any aid since May 9... This is any indication of the continued perpetuation of the humanitarian catastrophe.” In the Gaza Strip.

On May 7, Israeli forces entered Rafah in the far south of the Gaza Strip, and took control of the Palestinian side of the crossing with Egypt, in a move that the United Nations said deprived it of a major humanitarian corridor into the Strip, warning of a looming famine.

Negotiations 'on the back burner'

An American official, described by Agence France-Presse as high-ranking, said that the negotiations are “currently on the back burner,” but dialogue with the parties continues.

The official said that "the return of negotiations to life" depends on a decision by Hamas in which it shows its willingness to rapprochement with Israel's proposal, explaining that if the movement proceeds with its rapprochement with the Israeli position, there will be "a slowdown in the pace of operations in Rafah."

The official added that Hamas must "be humble enough to hold serious talks about the negotiations," noting that there is "a real concern that once the conflict escalates... it will be difficult for the Hamas leadership to return seriously to the negotiations."

In response to a question about whether Doha was reconsidering hosting Hamas’ political leaders in Qatar, the Qatari Prime Minister said, “The continuation of the war requires a means of communication,” and as long as the situation is like this, removing Hamas is not on the table.

The American official said that there is still "hope that Qatar, through its mediation... can achieve something."

He added, "But I think it has become clear that without reaching an agreement, the success of these negotiations will not be possible in the future, and then a change will have to be made regarding the level of hosting Hamas."