Mediator Qatar urges international community to prevent Rafah ‘genocide’
DOHA: Qatar called on the international community on Wednesday to prevent a “genocide” in Rafah following Israel’s seizure of the Gaza city’s crossing with Egypt and threats of a wider assault.
In a statement the Gulf state, which has been mediating between Israel and militant group Hamas, appealed “for urgent international action to prevent the city from being invaded and a crime of genocide being committed.”
Israel struck targets in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after seizing the main border crossing with Egypt. Israel has vowed for weeks to launch a ground incursion into Rafah, despite a clamour of international objection.
The attacks on the southern city, which is packed with displaced civilians, came as negotiators and mediators met in Cairo to try to hammer out a hostage-release and truce deal in the seven-month war.
Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’s political office in Doha since 2012, has been engaged — along with Egypt and the United States — in months of behind-the-scenes mediation between Israel and the Palestinian group.
The African Union condemned Wednesday the Israeli military’s moves into southern Gaza’s Rafah, calling for the international community to stop “this deadly escalation” of the war.
AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat “firmly condemns the extension of this war to the Rafah crossing,” said a statement after Israeli tanks captured the key corridor for humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian territory.
Moscow: Today, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan commenced a working visit to Moscow, as reported by media outlets. According to the press service of the Uzbekistani head of state, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia, Denis Manturov, along with other officials, extended a warm welcome to President Mirziyoyev upon his arrival at the Vnukovo International Airport.
As outlined in the visit program, President Mirziyoyev is slated to participate in several significant events during his stay in Moscow. These include the commemoration of the anniversary meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, as well as ceremonial gatherings marking the 79th anniversary of Victory in World War II. Additionally, President Mirziyoyev is scheduled to engage in a series of bilateral meetings aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Uzbekistan and Russia.