Qatar pushes for full implementation of Gaza ceasefire plan

Qatar said on Tuesday that it is pushing for the full implementation of the agreed ceasefire plan in the Gaza Strip despite Israeli “intransigence.” Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a news conference that Doha remains committed to moving forward with efforts to implement the Gaza ceasefire plan. “What we are demanding is that both parties to the Gaza agreement fully implement the agreed plan,” he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a 15-point Gaza ceasefire plan and insisted that Hamas disarm first, although the roadmap issued by US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace on July 31 calls for Hamas’ disarmament and an Israeli withdrawal to proceed gradually and in parallel. On August 4, Trump's Board of Peace had assured Netanyahu that Israel's withdrawal in Gaza would only begin after Hamas's complete disarmament. Two members of Netanyahu's security cabinet had urged a vote to tear up the deal championed by Trump after the board released a text that called for Israel to begin a phased withdrawal. Read: Kushner urges Netanyahu to 'not create obstacles' in Gaza peace plan: report Turning to the broader regional crisis, Ansari said Qatar’s current efforts are focused on defusing tensions and returning the US and Iran to their memorandum of understanding and the negotiating table. “At this stage, our efforts are focused on stopping the escalation and bringing both sides of the crisis back to the dialogue table,” he said. He added that Qatar wants an agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and a ceasefire to be reached simultaneously. On the Iranian pilots who entered Qatari airspace, Ansari said Qatar found the remains of one of the two pilots on March 19 and later handed them over to the Iranian side. He added that Tehran had not responded to Qatar’s invitation to send a technical team to observe the search operations. Separately, on August 17, an Iranian military official said Qatar should let an Iranian team in to investigate the fate of held Iranian pilots, Iranian media reported. Mohammad Baqerzadeh, the Commander of Missing in Action Search Committee of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, said the air force and fact-finding team had been waiting for months to enter Qatar, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Baqerzadeh accused Qatari officials of repeatedly delaying the investigation and preventing the pilots' return to Iran. He called for the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgently follow up on the case.