The Israeli attack on Doha was a “pivotal moment” for the whole region, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani has said, condemning the strike as ”state terrorism.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), in coordination with the security service Shin Bet (ISA), attacked a compound in the Qatari capital used by Hamas. The Palestinian militant group claimed its leadership had managed to survive the attack.
The surprise strike will not be “overlooked,” and Qatar “reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack,” the prime minister told a press conference.
“Today, we have reached a turning point for there to be a response from the entire region against such barbaric conduct,” he stressed.
Al-Thani took personal jabs at his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of disrupting regional stability for the sake of “narcissistic delusions” and personal gains. Qatar will continue its mediation effort to settle the enduring hostilities between Hamas, he said.
The prime minister admitted that the room for diplomacy has now become very narrow and the attack likely derailed the round of negotiations dedicated to the latest proposal floated by US President Donald Trump.
“When it comes to the current talks, I don’t think there is anything valid right now after we’ve seen such an attack,” he said.
The Israeli attack came two days after the US president issued another “last warning” to Hamas, claiming that Israel had already accepted unspecified terms of a deal he had proposed and demanding the group release Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.
Shortly after, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also gave the group a “final warning,” threatening Hamas with annihilation and demanding that the militants lay down arms.
Following the threats, Hamas said it was ready to “immediately sit at the negotiating table” after hearing what it described as “some ideas from the American side aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement.
Hamas has however revealed that the Israeli attack on its compound in the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday was largely unsuccessful and that its top members survived.
However, the attack did kill the son of Khalil al-Hayya, the group’s political bureau head, as well as a senior aide, according to Suhail al-Hindi, a senior Hamas member. Three bodyguards of the group’s leader remain unaccounted for after the strikes, he told Al Jazeera.
“The blood of the leadership of the movement is like the blood of any Palestinian child,” al-Hindi stated.
The “heinous” Israeli attack was an “attempt to kill those discussing ending the war on Gaza,” he added, corroborating earlier reports that the group’s leadership was hit when it had gathered to discuss the latest US proposals on settling the conflict with Israel.
According to Israeli media reports, some 15 aircraft were involved in the attack, firing more than ten high-precision munitions into the Hamas compound. Israel has insisted the attack was a unilateral action and that no other party was involved in striking “the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization.”
Multiple Israeli media reports, however, suggested that West Jerusalem notified Washington of the impending action ahead of the strike. Moreover, Israeli Channel 12 reported, citing an unnamed official, that US President Donald Trump had given the green light for the attack.
The White House described the Israeli attack as an “unfortunate” incident, with spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stating the strike at the heart of Qatar, a “close ally” of the US, “does not advance Israel or America’s goals.”
