Qatar’s prime minister has said the only way to reach a peaceful solution in Gaza is to keep communication channels open.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who is also the minister of foreign affairs, added in a press conference with the Turkish foreign minister in Doha that Qatar will continue coordinating with Turkey and regional partners to de-escalate the crisis.

He added: “Qatar condemns the collective punishment policy” on Gaza.

He also said there is some progress on hostage negotiations following Hamas taking more than 200 hostages during its Oct 7 rampage in southern Israel. He hopes there will be breakthroughs on hostage releases “soon”.

“The number of children killed in Gaza exceeds the number of children killed in Ukraine, but we have not seen the same reaction,” Sheikh Mohammed said.