Mediator Qatar expects Gaza cease-fire to last despite 'violation'

NEW YORK — Mediator Qatar said Wednesday it expected a US-backed cease-fire 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 cease-fire 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 killing more than 100 people in Gaza after it said one of its soldiers died in enemy fire in Gaza.

According to Gaza's civil defense agency at least 35 children were among the victims of Israeli attacks, a toll confirmed by an AFP tally of medical sources at five hospitals in Gaza.

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

"That's basically a violation by the Palestinian party," 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," Thani said. "We are trying to contain it and we mobilized right away after this in full coordination with the United States. And we have seen that the U.S. also is committed to the deal, so the cease-fire 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 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

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

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.