Qatari envoy says both Israel, Hamas want calm

Amid flareup on southern border, Gulf official in Strip says neither side wants ‘a confrontation that could ignite the entire region’

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A Qatari envoy said Monday that both Israel and Gaza terrorists want to contain the cross-border violence that has flared in recent days, as he detailed a new emergency fund to aid the blockaded territory.

Earlier Monday, Israel’s military struck what it said was an underground terror site in Gaza, in response to rocket fire. The military has struck various targets in Gaza in recent days, and killed two Palestinians who tried to infiltrate Israel after a bomb on the border wounded four Israeli soldiers.

There were no reports of casualties from the latest strike.

“We confirm through our relationship with the two sides that they are not interested in escalation or engaging in a confrontation that could ignite the entire region,” the Qatari envoy, Mohammed al-Emadi, told reporters in Gaza City.

Matthias Schmale, UNRWA’s director in Gaza, left, shakes hands with the Qatari envoy, Mohammed Al-Emadi, during a press conference at the Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Gaza, on February 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Al-Emadi, whose country maintains contact with the Islamic terror group Hamas and has hosted its leaders, coordinates Qatar’s relief and reconstruction projects in Gaza. On Monday, he announced details of a $9 million emergency fund, to address fuel and medicine shortages.

Gaza has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since Hamas wrested control of the territory from the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, in 2007. A dispute over money and revenue collections has stalled a reconciliation deal, brokered by Egypt in October, between Hamas and PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party.

Abbas has since stepped up financial pressure on Gaza. Hamas says the cuts are endangering the functioning of Gaza hospitals.

The Qatari grant includes $2 million in medical supplies, and $500,000 for fuel to power backup generators in Gaza’s public health centers, enough to keep them running for a month.

Hospital cleaners hold signs thanking Qatar and wave Qatari and Palestinian flags during a press conference by Matthias Schmale, UNRWA’s director in Gaza, and the Qatari envoy, Mohammed Al-Emadi, at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza, on February 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Trucks loaded with the supplies and decorated with Qatari flags and posters of the oil-rich sheikhdom’s rulers could be seen outside Gaza City’s main Shifa hospital on Monday, where al-Emadi and UN officials spoke.

Hospital cleaning workers demonstrated their support during the ceremony, holding signs reading “Thank you, Qatar.” They have been striking for 10 days, demanding payment from the Hamas-run Health Ministry. Hamas and Abbas’ Palestinian Authority are locked in a dispute over who is responsible for paying them.

The Gaza border area has been generally quiet since a 50-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2014. But it has seen an increase in violence since US President Donald Trump’s announcement in December recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.