DOHA, Qatar— Benjamin Netanyahu “killed any hope” for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip after Israel’s attack this week on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar’s prime minister said Thursday in remarks that underscored wider anger among Gulf Arab countries over the strike.
Tuesday’s attack on the territory of a U.S. ally killed at least six people and alarmed countries in the Middle East and beyond, risking upending ceasefire talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt that sought to free the Hamas-held hostages in Gaza.
“I was meeting one of the hostages’ families the morning of the attack,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told CNN in an interview aired late Wednesday. “They are counting on this mediation. They have no other hope for that.”
“What Netanyahu has done, he just killed any hope for those hostages,” added Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Qatar’s top diplomat.
Hamas spokesperson Fawzy Barhoum said Israel’s attack constituted a “derailment of negotiations efforts” and showed that Netanyahu and his backers “refuse to reach a deal.”
Hamas says its senior leaders survived the Doha strike but that five lower-level members were killed. The militant group, which has sometimes only confirmed the assassination of its leaders months later, offered no immediate proof senior figures had survived.
Funerals for the five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer who were killed in the attack were held Thursday. Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended the service.
Qatar’s diplomatic push
Sheikh Mohammed was expected to attend a U.N. Security Council meeting later Thursday, part of Qatari efforts following the strike. Qatar also said it was organizing an Arab-Islamic summit next week in Doha to discuss the attack.
The Security Council has expressed “deep concern” over the strike without mentioning Israel and emphasized “de-escalation.” It also conveyed its solidarity with Qatar and the “vital role” the country played in mediating peace efforts in recent years.
Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians continued to flee Gaza City ahead of Israel’s impending offensive there. The numbers have grown in recent days, though many have refused to leave, saying they no longer have the strength or money to relocate.
The operation is aimed at taking over the largest Palestinian city, already devastated from earlier raids and experiencing famine. The offensive, in its early stages, has deepened Israel’s already unprecedented global isolation, which intensified further this week following the strike on Qatar.
Reflecting eroding support for Israel within the U.S. Democratic Party, a pair of U.S. senators accused Netanyahu and his government of ethnic cleansing in Gaza by using starvation as a weapon of war and systematically destroying homes in Gaza.
Senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley said Thursday after a weeklong visit to the region in August that Israel was deliberately blocking the entry of food in order to displace Palestinians to the south of the strip — a precursor to relocating them to other countries.
Israel has denied there is starvation in Gaza, even after experts last month announced a famine in Gaza City. It says it has allowed in enough humanitarian aid and accuses Hamas of diverting it. U.N. agencies deny there is any systematic diversion and say Israel’s restrictions and ongoing offensive make it difficult to deliver desperately needed food.
A warning from the UAE
Qatar has hosted Hamas’ political leadership for years in Doha, in part over a request by the United States to encourage negotiations to end the war that started with Hamas’ assault on Israel nearly two years ago.
There was no immediate reaction to Sheikh Mohammed’s remarks from Netanyahu, who has continued to defend the strikes and threatened further action against Qatar a day after U.S. President Donald Trump had sought to ease tensions between the U.S. allies.
“I say to Qatar and all nations who harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice,” Netanyahu said. “Because if you don’t, we will.”
