Hyderabad, Jan. 6 -- As humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip struggles to trickle in, the Qatari Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, January 6, said that negotiations are underway to open the Rafah crossing into the besieged area.

Speaking to the media, spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said that communications are ongoing ."We are working with them to ensure we reach the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire. We demanded that humanitarian aid not be used as a form of political blackmail," Al-Ansari said.

One of the demands tabled in the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire was the immediate reopening of Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt, which would enable the flow of relief materials to Palestinians.

However, since the ceasefire came into effect o...