DUBAI: Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Wednesday talks on a Gaza ceasefire and a release of hostages are at a “delicate phase”.

“We are trying as much as possible to address this stumbling block,” he added, without giving further details.

Qatar’s premier condemned what he described as the policy of “collective punishment” still followed by Israel in its aggression against the enclave’s Palestinian Hamas group and the latest escalation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The ceasefire discussions, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, are continuing as a humanitarian crisis devastates Palestinians in Gaza with severe shortages of food, medicine and hospital care.

33,899 Palestinians killed in Israel’s Gaza offensive since Oct. 7, health ministry says

The war was triggered when Hamas burst into southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, and killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages into the enclave, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel has retaliated with aggression that has killed almost 34,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.