Qatar suspends mediation efforts as Israeli strikes kill 13 in Gaza

Qatar has decided to suspend its key mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel, officials said Saturday.

However, Qatar is highly likely to return to the efforts if both sides show “serious political willingness” to reach a deal on the war in Gaza, according to one official with Egypt, the other key mediator.

A diplomatic source briefed on the matter said both Israel and Hamas, along with the United States, were informed after the decision was made. The source added that “as a consequence, the Hamas political office no longer serves its purpose” in Qatar.

Meanwhile, two separate Israeli strikes killed at least 13 people, including women and children, in Gaza on Saturday, Palestinian medical officials said, as Israel announced the first delivery of aid in weeks to the northern Gaza.

One of the strikes hit a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City's eastern Tufah neighbourhood, killing at least six people, Gaza's Health Ministry said. Two local journalists, a pregnant woman and a child were among the dead, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon over the last day killed more than 20 people, including several children, Lebanese authorities said on Saturday, after heavy Israeli bombardment pounded the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut overnight.

At least seven people were killed in the coastal city of Tyre late on Friday, Lebanon's health ministry said. The Israeli military had previously ordered swathes of the city to evacuate but there were no orders published by the Israeli military spokesperson on social media platform X ahead of Friday's strikes.