Qatari premier meets Hamas delegation, calls for halt to Israeli aggression in Gaza

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on Wednesday called for a halt to Israeli escalations in Gaza, urging the global community to play a more robust role in this regard.

The call came at a meeting in Doha between Sheikh Mohammed, who also serves as Qatar's foreign minister, and a delegation from Palestinian group Hamas led by the group's political chief, Khalil al-Hayya.

The meeting was held in the immediate wake of major Israeli escalations in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier Wednesday, nine Palestinians, including police officers, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza City police station.

In Doha, Qatari and Hamas officials reviewed the situation in Gaza and in other occupied Palestinian territories, according to a statement issued by the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

Sheikh Mohammed welcomed the decision by Hamas "to accept the roadmap for completing the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip."

He expressed hope that the move would contribute to "ending the suffering of our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Gaza and fulfilling their aspirations for security and stability."