ISTANBUL

Qatar and Spain on Friday discussed the situation in Palestine amid ongoing devastating Israeli onslaught and called for unhindered and sustainable flow of humanitarian aid in all areas of Gaza.

According to a statement by the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is the country's prime minister and foreign minister, met with his Spanish counterpart Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid during which they discussed their bilateral relations and regional developments.

Both leaders also discussed "the need to strengthen the efforts aimed at an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza, as well as ensuring unhindered and sustainable flow of humanitarian aid in all areas of the Strip."

On Monday, the Gaza local authorities urged the international community to pressure Israel to stop using “the crime of starvation” in the enclave.

It stressed that Gaza's residents “are enduring severe humanitarian conditions and a real famine, especially in Gaza City and Northern Gaza.”

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt have so far failed to secure a permanent cease-fire that allows a prisoner swap between Israelis and Palestinians.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Over 37,400 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 85,600 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar