Are Gaza truce talks dead amid fears of regional war?
Hamas's political leader in an attack blamed on Israel has prompted fears of a wider regional conflict and sidelined talks aimed at ending the nearly 10-month war in Gaza.
Since Hamas's deadly October 7 attack on Israel sparked devastating retaliation in Gaza, Qatar has acted as an important interlocutor with the Palestinian militant group.
The movement's slain political chief Ismail Haniyeh was based in the Gulf emirate.
With the United States and Egypt, Qatar has led months of behind-the-scenes talks which aimed at securing an additional truce, beyond a one-week pause in November when scores of Israeli and foreign hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
But in the hours after Haniyeh's killing in Tehran, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Wednesday questioned the success of future talks.
«How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?» he asked.
Where do talks stand?
Before Haniyeh's killing, Hamas had accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of delaying a possible Gaza ceasefire.
As Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators met with Israeli negotiators one week ago in Rome, the militants said Israel presented new conditions for a deal in a step backwards from its previous position.
United States President Joe Biden outlined in late May what he called an Israeli initiative for a truce and hostage release deal, and this became the basis for subsequent talks.
The UN Security Council endorsed that framework.
Net
