Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has accused Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “killing any hope” for the hostages still held in Gaza, after Israel’s air force attempted to assassinate Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday.
Speaking in an interview with CNN, Al-Thani described the strike on residential buildings in the Qatari capital as “barbaric” and “state terror.” He said: “We were thinking that we are dealing with civilized people… I cannot describe it, but it’s a barbaric action.”
The prime minister revealed that the attack claimed the lives of six people, including a Qatari security officer, and confirmed that the son of senior Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya was among the dead. Hamas leaders meeting to discuss a US-backed ceasefire proposal survived the attack, although Al-Thani said there was “no official declaration” on the status of al-Hayya himself.
“I was meeting one of the hostage’s families the morning of the attack,” Al-Thani told CNN. “They are counting on this mediation. They have no other hope for that. What Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages.”
He added that Qatar is “reassessing everything” around its role in mediation, accusing Netanyahu of “wasting our time” and undermining chances for peace. While he said Qatar remains in close contact with the United States, he warned that “Netanyahu wasn’t serious about anything” and dismissed recent negotiations as “meaningless.”
The prime minister confirmed that the United States had expressed support for Qatar after the strike. US president Donald Trump, informed of the attack only shortly before it began, directed his envoy Steve Witkoff to notify Qatari officials. Trump later said Israel had accepted the latest US ceasefire proposal and urged Hamas to respond positively.
Al-Thani said Hamas was due to deliver its response to the US plan on Tuesday evening, just hours after the strike, but the attack derailed the process.
Looking ahead, Al-Thani said Qatar is now coordinating with regional partners on a “collective response” and confirmed an Arab-Islamic summit will be held in Doha in the coming days. “We are hoping for something meaningful that deters Israel from continuing this bullying,” he said.
