DOHA: The US has told Qatar that the presence of Hamas in Doha is no longer acceptable in the weeks since the Palestinian group rejected the latest proposal to achieve a ceasefire and a hostage deal, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday.
“After rejecting repeated proposals to release hostages, its leaders should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner. We made that clear to Qatar following Hamas’s rejection weeks ago of another hostage release proposal,” the senior official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Qatar then made the demand to Hamas leaders about 10 days ago, the official said. Washington has been in touch with Qatar over when to close the group’s political office, and it told Doha that now was the time.
Three Hamas officials denied Qatar had told Hamas leaders they were no longer welcome in the country. The spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It was unclear if the Qataris provided a specific deadline to the Hamas leaders to leave the country.
Gaza war death toll rises to 43,552, says health ministry
At least 43,552 Palestinians have been killed, with 102,765 others injured, since Israel’s military offensive on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Gaza’s health ministry said on Saturday.
Several Syrian soldiers hurt in Israeli strike near Aleppo
Several Syrian soldiers were injured in an Israeli air “aggression” in the vicinity of the city of Al-Safira near Aleppo and Idlib, state media reported early on Saturday.
The air “aggression” targeted a number of sites in the countryside, outside Aleppo and Idlib, state media said, citing a military source.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gaza women, children are nearly 70% of verified war dead, UN rights office says
The UN Human Rights Office said on Friday nearly 70% of the fatalities it has verified in the Gaza war were women and children, and condemned what it called a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.
The 8,119 victims verified is a much lower number than the toll of more than 43,000 provided by Palestinian health authorities for the 13-month-old war. But the UN breakdown of the victims’ age and gender backs the Palestinian assertion that women and children represent a large portion of those killed in the war.
This finding indicates “a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality”, the UN rights office said in a statement accompanying the 32-page report.
“It is essential that there is due reckoning with respect to the allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies and that, in the meantime, all relevant information and evidence are collected and preserved,” United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said.
Israel’s diplomatic mission to the UN in Geneva said it categorically rejected the report.
