Qatar and Egypt have played a crucial role in mediation efforts.
The Qatari government’s role as a third-party mediator goes back many years, exercising its diplomatic abilities since the 1990s and has become an important aspect of its foreign policy.
Despite the resumption of fighting, talks between Qatari and Egyptian mediators were “ongoing”, said a source briefed on the talks. According to Egypt’s official state media agency, the mediators were working to negotiate a further extension of two days.
With fewer Israeli women and children left in captivity, extending the truce could require setting new terms for the release of Israeli men, including soldiers, reported Reuters.
One of Qatar’s lead negotiators, career diplomat Abdullah Al Sulaiti who helped broker the truce through marathon shuttle negotiations, acknowledged in a recent interview with Reuters the uncertain odds of maintaining the ceasefire.
“At the beginning, I thought achieving an agreement would be the most difficult step,” he said in an article that detailed the behind-the-scenes mediation efforts.
“I’ve discovered that sustaining the agreement itself is equally challenging.”
Source: CNA
