Qatari Emir, Dutch premier discuss Gaza developments over phone

DOHA, Qatar

Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani discussed Thursday with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte the prevailing situation “in the Gaza Strip and occupied Palestinian territories,” according to the state-run Qatari news agency, QNA

It said the leaders also "discussed a number of regional and international developments of common concern” in a telephone call.

The call comes as Israel prepares for a possible military invasion in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Despite the global outcry about the catastrophic situation in the Palestinian enclave, the Israeli premier has long expressed his intention to attack Rafah, the southernmost town in Gaza and one of the last significant communities spared from a ground invasion in the enclave.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on Oct. 7, which Tel Aviv said killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 34,300 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 77,300 injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul