Qatar’s emir meets U.S.’ Blinken, calls for immediate cease-fire in Gaza

Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on Sunday called for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the blockaded territory.

This came during a meeting Tamim held with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who arrived in Doha as part of a regional tour.

Talks between the two sides dwelt on bilateral relations and regional and international developments, particularly the situation in the Gaza Strip, Qatar's state news agency QNA reported.

The Qatari emir underlined the need to work to reach a permanent cease-fire, protect civilians, allow sufficient aid into Gaza, and de-escalate tension "to guarantee stability and security in the region," QNA said.

Qatar, along with Egypt and the U.S., leads mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has launched air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 22,835 Palestinians have since been killed and 58,416 others injured, according to Gaza's health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicines.

Numerous international legal experts have said Israel's actions in Gaza constitute war crimes or genocide, and countries such as Türkiye and South Africa are working to bring legal cases to that effect in international courts.