Qatar's chief negotiatior 'frustrated' by pace of Gaza talks

Qatar's chief negotiator voiced frustration over talks for a truce in Gaza in an interview with AFP, a month after Israel resumed its strikes on the enclave and another round of negotiations ended without a deal.

"We're definitely frustrated by the slowness, sometimes, of the process in the negotiation. This is an urgent matter. There are lives at stake here if this military operation continues day by day," Mohammed Al-Khulaifi said on Friday.

"We've been working continuously in the last days to try to bring the parties together and revive the agreement that has been endorsed by the two sides.

"And we will remain committed to this, in spite of the difficulties."

During the long mediation process, Qatar has been the target of direct criticism from Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At least two of Netanyahu's aides are suspected of receiving payments from the Qatari government to promote Doha's interests in Israel, prompting an Israeli criminal probe. Qatar has dismissed the attacks as a "smear campaign".

Earlier in March, an investigation by Israel's domestic security agency attributed funds from the Gulf state to an increase in Hamas's military strength before the October 7 attack. Qatar has rebuffed the accusation as "false".

"We've been receiving those types of criticism and negative comments since the early times of our involvement," Al-Khulaifi said.

"Critiques without any context, such as the ones that we keep hearing from Netanyahu himself, are often just noise," he added.