Media Center

Doha  - Media & Communication Dept. - 14 November 2023

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari said that the crime of the Israeli occupation's bombing of the headquarters of the Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza (QCRG) must not go unnoticed, pointing that the State of Qatar looks forward to the solidarity of the international community in condemning this crime and the symbolism it represents in the context of repeated Israeli crimes. 
During the weekly media briefing, Al Ansari said that the Israeli occupation's bombing of the headquarters of the Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza will not deter the State of Qatar from providing its aid to the Palestinian people, adding that providing aid is not linked to any events, but rather is a moral and Islamic obligation. Qatar will not be deterred by all attempts of the occupation or others from providing this assistance, he stressed. 
Al Ansari affirmed that the State of Qatar would continue to provide assistance, pointing that, so far, 10 Qatari aircraft carrying a total of 358 tons of assistance arrived at the city of Arish. Two Qatari Armed Forces' aircraft arrived today in Arish, carrying 54 tons of aid, including a field hospital, shelter supplies, and medical and food materials, provided by the Qatar Fund for Development, the Qatar Red Crescent, and Qatar Charity, in preparation for transporting it to Gaza, he added. 
He explained that this aid comes within the framework of the State of Qatar's support for the brotherly Palestinian people, and its full support for them during the difficult humanitarian circumstances resulting from the Israeli bombing of Gaza Strip. 
Al Ansari said that the Israeli occupation's bombing of the headquarters of the QCRG is a blatant violation of international law, and an extension of the occupation's approach of targeting civilians and civilian establishments, which also included hospitals, schools, population centers, and IDPs shelters. 
The bombing of the committee's headquarters is an extension of the policy of targeting human beings, especially since this committee has worked through its projects to alleviate the suffering of the Gazan people, who live in dire hardship as a result of the long siege and ongoing aggression, he added. 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson praised the response of a number of countries and international organizations who condemned the bombing of QCRG's headquarters, most notably in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the General Assembly of Secretaries-General of Arab Parliaments. 
He stressed the need for the international community to move urgently to hold Israel accountable for its repeated crimes against civilians and civilian establishments, and to oblige it to comply with international laws. 
Furthermore, Al Ansari warned against the Israeli occupation committing a new massacre in the Al Shifa Medical Complex in western Gaza, considering that the repeated Israeli provocations by targeting its surroundings and the outpatient clinics building therein are a prelude to targeting the complex, in which a large number of IDPs, estimated at 60,000, have taken refuge, along with medical staff, the sick, and the injured. 
Dr. Al Ansari stressed that Qatari efforts have not and will not stop in order to stop the bloodshed, pointing in this context, to the meeting of HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani in his office at the Amiri Diwan today with HE Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa Naledi Pandor. 
In the same context, HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs received a telephone call from HE Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, where the two sides discussed the developments in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories. 
His Excellency on Nov. 11 also received a telephone call from the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the situation in Gaza. 
On the same day, Dr. Al Ansari added, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani headed the State of Qatar's delegation participating in the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers preparatory meeting of the eighth Extraordinary Islamic Summit. He pointed that the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit, which was held in Riyadh, also discussed the Israeli aggression on Gaza. HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani also met with HE German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock to discuss the developments in Gaza. 
All of these contacts and meetings with various regional and international parties addressed the latest developments in the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel, and ways to reduce the escalation, Dr. Al Ansari said that during these meetings, HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated the State of Qatar's firm position condemning all forms of targeting civilians, and that killing innocent civilians, especially women and children, and leading the policy of collective punishment is unacceptable under any pretext. 
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also presented the efforts of HE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, HE Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi, and HE Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater, and their meetings and communications during the week with a number of ministers and officials, to discuss the latest regional developments, the war on Gaza, and Qatari aid to various international organizations.