Mediator Qatar expects Gaza ceasefire to last despite 'violation'

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NEW YORK - Mediator Qatar said Wednesday it expected a US-backed ceasefire to hold in Gaza despite a "violation" as Israel carried out strikes in response to Palestinian fire.

"Fortunately, I think the main parties -- both of them -- are acknowledging that the ceasefire should hold and they should stick to the agreement," Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Council on Foreign Relations on a visit to New York.

Israel carried out major strikes after it said one of its soldiers died in enemy fire in Gaza.

Gaza's civil defence agency said the Israeli strikes killed more than 100 people, including at least 35 children, a toll confirmed by an AFP tally of medical sources at five hospitals in Gaza.

Taking a cautious tone, Al Thani did not accuse Israel of violating the ceasefire and pointed to the attack on Israeli soldiers.

"That's basically a violation by the Palestinian party," Al Thani said, while noting that Hamas has said it was not communicating with the group that carried out the attack.

"Yesterday's event was honestly something that is very disappointing and frustrating for us to see," Al Thani said.

"We are trying to contain it, and we mobilised right away after this in full coordination with the United States. And we have seen that the US also is committed to the deal, so the ceasefire still holds as of now."

Qatar, where Hamas leaders have lived, has been the key diplomatic go-between since Israel launched its devastating offensive in response to a massive attack by the Palestinian armed group on October 7, 2023.

Last month, Israel carried out a strike inside Qatar aimed at Hamas leaders discussing a ceasefire proposal, triggering a rare rebuke of Israel by US President Donald Trump, who then pressed harder for a Gaza ceasefire.

Al Thani called the attack -- in which a Qatari security guard became the first citizen of a Gulf Arab monarchy killed by an Israeli airstrike -- not only "a shock but a game-changer for all the region."

"I think that the attack itself has shown the US that there are all the red lines being crossed in the region," he said.