Qatar welcomes Gaza truce, after 'waste of blood'

Qatar has welcomed a truce for Gaza after three days of Israeli bombing, saying it was the result of "active diplomacy".

The Egypt-brokered truce, supported by Qatar and the UN, has ended a horrific air campaign by Israel that resulted in at least 43 Palestinians being killed, including 15 children.

It is hoped by those involved in the truce that it will end Israeli violence in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

"This agreement should not be broken in any way to ensure an appropriate amount of time where parties can work at the diplomatic level to avoid an escalation," Majed al-Ansari, spokesman of the Qatari foreign ministry, told The New Arab.

"I believe that what we are see[ing] now … is the result of active diplomacy – not just on the part of Qatar, but at the regional and international level – aimed at stopping this aggression as soon as possible."

Qatar was among a group of Arab countries that condemned Israeli aggression and settler raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, calling on the international community to protect civilians.

"The State of Qatar expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the storming of dozens of settlers in the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces," the Qatar ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement.

"The ministry calls on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities towards Jerusalem and its sanctities to deter the occupation's attempts to turn the conflict into a religious war."

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Turkey were among the other countries to condemn Israeli bombardments.