DOHA: Qatar’s ruler hit out at “shameful” international inaction over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza as he opened a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Doha on Tuesday.

“It is shameful for the international community to allow this heinous crime to continue for nearly two months, during which the systematic and deliberate killing of innocent civilians continues, including women and children,” Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said.

Israel declared war on Hamas after the group killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages, according to Israeli figures, in an unprecedented attack on October 7.

The Israeli offensive has killed nearly 15,900 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, around 70 percent of them women and children.

Qatar was a key mediator in negotiations that resulted in a seven-day truce, which saw scores of Israeli hostages exchanged for Palestinians prisoners and humanitarian aid, until it ended on Friday.

Qatar’s ruler said his country was “constantly working to renew” the truce, but added this was “not an alternative to a permanent ceasefire”.