During the weekly media briefing - organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Director of the Media and Communication Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ibrahim bin Sultan al-Hashmi said Qatar declared its categorical rejection of attempts to forcibly displace the fraternal people of Palestine from the Gaza Strip and called for lifting the siege on the Strip, providing full protection for civilians, and enforcing international law and international humanitarian law.
In this regard, he pointed out that in implementation of the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, a Qatari plane carrying 37 tonnes of food and medical aid provided by the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) headed to the city of Al Arish in the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt on Monday, in preparation for transporting it to Gaza.
He also noted the latest regional and international developments. especially in the Gaza Strip, and the meetings of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs with a number of ministers of friendly countries as well as his phone calls with a number of fraternal Arab ministers of foreign affairs and other officials.
Al-Hashmi added that HE Sheikh Mohamed met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and discussed with him co-operation relations between the two countries and ways of supporting and developing them, in addition to discussing the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and ways to halt escalation and protect civilians.
The prime minister also met with Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and stressed the necessity of working towards an immediate ceasefire, protecting civilians and releasing prisoners, and the danger of the expansion of violence and the cycle of conflict in the region, which will have dire consequences if it expands.
He also indicated that HE Sheikh Mohamed held several phone calls with a number of fraternal Arab foreign ministers , including foreign minister of Oman Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi, Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah al-Saud, Jordan Dr Ayman Al Safadi, and Egypt Sameh Shoukry.
HE the premier also held phone calls with a number of other officials, including Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Melanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye Hakan Fidan, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom James Cleverly, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Hanke Bruins.
Al-Hashmi pointed out that HE the Prime Minister stressed Qatar's keenness to halt escalation in Gaza and spare the region from further violence.
He pointed out that HE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi will chair the delegation of Qatar at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) emergency ministerial meeting on Palestine.
He also noted that Qatar participated in the extraordinary session of the Arab League Council at the level of Arab foreign ministers, which was launched yesterday at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Arab League in Cairo, at the request of the State of Palestine and headed by the Kingdom of Morocco, to consult and coordinate on ways to stop the escalation and aggression against the Gaza Strip.
