DOHA: Qatar on Friday urged swift international action to stop violence in the Gaza Strip after renewed Israeli bombardment of the territory at the end of a truce which the Gulf emirate mediated.

The Qatari foreign ministry, in a statement, said it stresses that continued bombing at the end of the pause “complicates mediation efforts and exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip, and… calls on the international community to move quickly to stop the violence.”

It added “its condemnation of all forms of targeting civilians, the practice of collective punishment, and attempts to forcibly displace and displace citizens of the besieged Gaza Strip, and its demand for an immediate ceasefire.”

The emirate added it was “committed, along with its mediation partners, to continuing the efforts that led to the humanitarian pause, and will not hesitate to do everything necessary to return to calm”.

Iran blamed Israel and the United States for a resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Iran blames Israel for renewed fighting

“After killing more than 15,000 Palestinians, the Zionist vampires have started a new round of killing under the continued support of the American government,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Kanani added that “the political and legal responsibility for the continuation of the aggression and massacre” rests with Israel, the US and “a few governments that support this apartheid regime.”

“The nations and the vast majority of the governments of the world are shouting for the continuation of the ceasefire and the complete stop to the Zionist regime’s attacks against Gaza and the West Bank,” Kanani said.

“In Lebanon, we are concerned in facing this challenge, being vigilant, and always ready to confront any possibility and any danger that may arise in our country,” Hassan Fadlallah, a senior Hezbollah politician, said in broadcast remarks.

“No one thinks that Lebanon has been spared from this Zionist targeting or that what is happening in Gaza cannot affect the situation in Lebanon,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2023