Amid Gaza war, King Mohammed VI will visit Qatar and UAE
Morocco's King Mohammed VI is expected to make two official visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates starting this Friday, according to Maghreb-Intelligence based on reliable sources in Rabat.
In fact, the portal reveals, teams from the Moroccan monarch's services, as well as the Moroccan public media, are already on their way to Doha. In addition to Mohammed VI, several members of the Akhannouch government are also scheduled to travel to the Gulf.
This visit comes in the midst of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and, although the agenda of these two visits has not been disclosed, the Palestinian issue is expected to feature prominently in the meetings between Mohammed VI and the leaders of Qatar and the Emirates, as well as the excellent relations between the three countries.
Qatar and the UAE are two of the Kingdom's main allies in the Gulf region. Both nations, along with Morocco, can play a key role in finding a solution to the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Indeed, Doha has become a key player in talks between Israel and the terrorist group. These negotiations, in which the United States also plays an important role, are aimed at reaching a ceasefire and releasing the more than 200 Israeli hostages held by Hamas and other organisations such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
King Mohammed VI's arrival in the region also coincides with the announcement of a truce which, according to the Qatari Foreign Ministry, will begin at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning, Friday. The first 13 hostages are expected to arrive in Israel at 4pm. According to Doha, the truce will last four days.
The agreement between Israel and the terrorist group consists of the exchange of 50 live Israeli hostages (children, their mothers and other women in groups of 12 to 13 people) for a four-day pause in the fighting in Gaza and the release of up to 150 Palestinian women prisoners and minors in Israeli jails held on terrorism-related charges.
The agreement also provides for more fuel and humanitarian aid to enter Gaza during the truce, the first since the war began. Israel has also pushed for the agreement to allow the International Red Cross to visit all hostages not included in the agreement and provide them with necessary medicines.
Despite the fact that many of the hostages are minors, elderly or have health problems and need medication, Hamas has not allowed the Red Cross to visit them.
The release of the hostages and the truce was supposed to begin today, but was delayed because Hamas did not deliver the list of those it will release on time, according to senior Israeli officials quoted by Israeli media.
