- AFP
- 4 Minutes ago
Israel attacks Doha to assassinate Hamas leaders
DOHA/WASHINGTON: Pakistan, like other many nations, on Monday the Israeli aggression against Qatar, which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described as “most dangerous provocation that could imperil regional peace and stability”, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his military to assassinate the Hamas leadership in the Gulf State.
On the other hand, Israel carried these strikes after informing the United States.
A White House official told AFP that Israel had notified the United States in advance about the strikes in Qatar, a key US ally that is home to a large US military base and which has been focusing on economic development in the volatile Middle east.
It makes the situation more complicated given the fact that the US allowed one of allies to attack another ally at a time President Donald Trump wants all the Gulf States to join the Abraham Accords.
Later in the day, things got murkier after the US said that they had informed Qatar about the planned Israeli strikes, a statement which the Gulf State refuted.
‘WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN ON YOUR SOIL’
A few hours after the attack, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump had contacted Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and assured him that “such a thing will not happen again on their soil”.
Meanwhile, Trump also contacted Netanyahu after the attack, with Leavitt saying the Israeli prime minister told the US president that he “wants to make peace fast”.
At the same time, she said hitting Hamas was a “worthy goal” while reconfirming that the US had prior information about the air strike.
Read more: ‘Hamas wants to die, recognition of Palestine meaningless’
Israel had told Steve Witkoff — the US special representative for Middle East — to inform Qatar about the impending attack, Leavitt said.
“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” she said.
“However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
QATAR DENIES US CLAIMS
But Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari in a statement denied the claims that the US informed Qatar about the Israeli strikes before they took place.
“The statements being circulated that the State of Qatar was pre-informed of the attack are completely false,” he said.
In this connection, he said, “The call that was received from an American official came during the sound of the explosions that resulted from the Israeli attack in Doha.”
‘WILL NOT TOLERATE’
Tuesday also saw Qatar informing the UN Security Council that it “Qatar “will not tolerate this aggressive Israeli behavior that undermines regional security, and will not accept any action targeting its security and sovereignty.”
In a letter, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani said they were conducting investigations at the highest level following Israel’s attack.
‘GLOBAL REPERCUSSIONS’
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a statement warned about the consequences of “brutal” attack on Qatar.
He said the failure to halt the Israeli aggression “would have repercussions not only on the region but on the entire world”. The solution lied in solving the Palestinian cause, he added.
Read more: ‘No alternative’ to two-state solution: France
HAMAS LEADERS
Later, Hamas said five of its members had been killed in the Israeli attack in Doha, including the son of Khalil al-Hayya.
However, it added that Israel had failed in an attempt to assassinate the group’s ceasefire negotiation team.
Among the key Hamas leaders based in Qatar are lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya and political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal.
Earlier, Suhail al-Hindi, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, told Al Jazeera that the group’s top leadership had survived the Israeli attack.
However, he said the attack killed al-Hayya’s son, Humam, and one of his top aides, adding that contact has also been lost with three other bodyguards.
On the other hand, Qatar’s interior ministry confirmed the killing of one security forces member and injuries to others.
“Specialised crews are continuing to inspect and secure the targeted area with the explosives division of the internal security forces,” the ministry said.
‘UNACCEPTABLE’
In his reaction, French President Emmanuel Macron said Israel’s air strikes Tuesday on Doha were unacceptable, whatever the reasoning behind them might be.
Read more: No annexation attempt will derail Two-State Solution push: Macron
The strikes “are unacceptable regardless of motive”, Macron wrote on X in Arabic, adding that “the war must not be allowed to spread in the region”.
Meanwhile, Macron posted similar messages in English and Hebrew too for a wider audience.
Similarly, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the attack violated Qatar’s sovereignty and risked “further escalation” in the volatile region.
“I condemn Israel’s strikes on Doha… The priority must be an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and a huge surge in aid into Gaza,” he posted on X. “This is the only solution towards long-lasting peace.”
REGIONAL PEACE AND STABILITY
“This act of aggression by Israel is totally unjustified, a brazen violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar, and constitutes a most dangerous provocation that could imperil regional peace and stability,” Shehbaz said in a statement.
But it is clearly a planned provocation to which Shehbaz referred.
Amir Ohana, speaker of the Israeli Knesset, in a social media post said, “This is a message for the entire Middle East”
Expressing full support to Qatar’s government and people, he condemned “the unlawful and heinous bombing in Doha by Israeli forces, targeting a residential area, and endangering the lives of innocent civilians”.
At the same time, he said Pakistan stood by Qatar and the Palestinians.
“Pakistan stands firmly with the State of Qatar, as well as with the people of Palestine against Israel’s aggression.”
Read more: Jordan, UAE reject any Israeli move to annex West Bank
Similarly, President Asif Ali Zardari reiterated Pakistan’s full support to Qatar and warned that “such actions are a grave threat to peace in the region”.
GREATER ISRAEL
The latest attack under far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on another Middle East country came amid the plans to annex parts of occupied West Bank and calls for establishing “Greater Israel”.
Read more: Dar blasts Greater Israel plan, calls for two-state solution
Israel is trying to sabotage the upcoming recognition of the Palestinian state — a move pushed by France and Saudi Arabia — by expanding the conflict as it pushes ahead with its plan to occupy Gaza City.
Read more: Spain bars two Israeli ministers, Israel fumes over Palestine recognition
In this connection, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the Israeli attack “blatantly violates international law and humanitarian norms. Targeting civilians and sovereign territory is an indefensible act of aggression”.
THE STATED TARGET
Earlier on Tuesday, Israel’s military said it conducted air strikes targeting senior Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital.
Qatar, which has been a key mediator in efforts to broker a truce in Gaza, said Israeli strikes targeted the homes of several members of Hamas’s political bureau residing in the Gulf country, , where the militant group’s senior leadership is based.
The strikes were carried out jointly by the military and the Shin Bet security agency, the two bodies said in a statement.
Neither Israeli officials nor domestic media have confirmed whether the strikes hit their intended targets. Hamas has also not commented on the fate of its leaders.
Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes in response to a Monday shooting in Jerusalem that killed six people and was later claimed by Hamas.
“Yesterday, following the deadly attacks in Jerusalem and Gaza, Netanyahu instructed all security agencies to prepare for the possibility of targeting Hamas leaders,” said a joint statement from Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz.
“Today at noon (0900 GMT), in light of an operational opportunity… the prime minister and the defence minister decided to implement the directive given last night.”
‘FLAGRANT VIOLATION’
UN chief Antonio Guterres is also among those condemning Israel’s “flagrant violation” of Qatari sovereignty.
Iran, a key backer of Hamas, condemned the attack as a “gross violation of all international rules and regulations, a violation of Qatar’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and an attack on Palestinian negotiators”.
Western allies Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates also condemned the attack, among others.
Similarly, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) extended its full support to Qatar.
It said GCC countries “stand in full solidarity with the sisterly State of Qatar and stand with it in any action it takes against this treacherous aggression, which has violated and torn apart all international laws and treaties adopted by the countries of the world.”
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