The head of Qatar’s National Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza and the Qatari ambassador to the Palestinian territories, Mohammed al-Emadi, arrived in the Gaza Strip Dec. 18 along with his deputy Khaled al-Hardan and a delegation of Qatari doctors.

Abd al-Rahman al-Khalidi, the head of public relations for the reconstruction committee, said Dec. 18 that Emadi's visit aimed to follow up on Qatari projects in Gaza. During the visit, Emadi celebrated Qatar National Day, held meetings with officials and administered cochlear implants for 20 children.

While Emadi has been arranging regular visits by Qatar to Gaza since 2012, the latest visit is especially important as it follows the signing of the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas in Egypt on Oct. 12, at a time when the relationship between Egypt and Qatar has been rocky. Doha has always opposed the ousting of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013 by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Despite Hamas' attempt to maintain balanced relations between Qatar and Egypt, the recent rapprochement between the movement and Cairo resulted in Doha and Hamas growing apart.