Qatar: No Gaza ceasefire negotiations for last 3-4 weeks

Qatar's prime minister said there have not been any conversations between the involved parties regarding a ceasefire in Gaza for the last three to four weeks. 

"On the prospects of the negotiation ... basically in the last three to four weeks, there is no conversation or engagement at all, and we are just moving in the same circle with the silence from all parties," His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told reporters at the end of a summit between the EU and GCC in Brussels.

Sheikh Mohammed, who is also foreign minister, has led mediation efforts for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

Shin Bet director Ronen Bar met with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel in Cairo on Sunday in an attempt to restart ceasefire talks, without a breakthrough. 

The two intelligence officials also discussed Israel's presence in Gaza's Philadelphi corridor, which has been a major issue between Israel and Egypt. Israel has refused to include its troops' withdrawal from the area as part of a ceasefire deal, saying Hamas has used the border area with Egypt to smuggle arms and dig tunnel. Meanwhile, Egypt has said the area was secured and tunnels running between Egypt and Gaza have been destroyed. 

In early September, Hamas said that its negotiators reiterated its readiness to implement an "immediate" ceasefire with Israel in Gaza based on a previous US proposal without new conditions from any party.

Officials in the United States believe that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is unlikely before President Joe Biden leaves office in January, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The latest conflict began after Hamas members killed 1,200 Israeli and took 250 others hostage on October 7. Israel immediately launched an operation in Gaza, which has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, injured more than 90,000 others, and displaced 90 per cent of the population. Israel widened its aggression to include Lebanon earlier this month to reportedly dismantle Hezbollah and allow the return of Israeli residents to the north. The group has launched thousands of projectiles into northern Israel in support of Palestinians. At least 2,367 people have been killed in Lebanon and 190,000 others have been displaced.