International Condemnation Follows Israeli Strike in qatar Targeting Hamas โLeaders
Following an attack on Jerusalem and the deaths of โฃfour Israeli soldiersโข in Gaza, Israel conducted a strike in Doha, Qatar, targeting Hamas leaders. The attackโ has sparkedโข international criticism and raised questions about the extentโข of priorโค warning given to Qatari officials.
Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, characterized the attack as a “100% betrayal,” statingโค that US officials only provided a warningโ tenโ minutes beforeโฃ the strike commenced. The Qatar Foreign Ministry previously dismissed claims ofโฃ advance โคknowledgeโข of the operation as “baseless,” noting a call from โคUS officialsโค coincided withโ the sound of explosions from the โIsraeli attack within doha.
Former US President Donald Trump, via his social media platform Truth Social, asserted his administration โขattempted โฃto warn Qatar but that the notification came “sadlyโฆtoo late to stop the attack.” He emphasized โคthe decision to strike Hamas leaders โin โQatar was โsolely thatโข of โฃIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stating, “This is the decision โof Prime Ministerโ Netanyahu, not my decision.” Trump detailed dispatching โฃa special โmessenger, Steve Witkoff, to deliver the warning, expressing regret over the attack’sโข location โขwhile reaffirming his view thatโข “destroying Hamas, who has taken advantage of theโ suffering โขof Gazans, is aโ decent โฃgoal.” he claimed to โฃhave secured assurances from Qatari leadership that such an incident would โnot recur โฃand announced his intention to expedite a defense cooperation agreement with Qatarโ through Foreignโ Affairsโข Minister Marco Rubio.
Germany also voicedโ strong disapproval. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz communicated to Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani that the violation of Qatari sovereignty was “unacceptable.” He lauded Qatar’s โฃmediationโ efforts in the Gaza conflict, aimed atโค securing a โคceasefire and theโค release ofโฃ hostages, and cautioned against the potential for widerโค regional conflict.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul โreleased aโฃ statement emphasizing the attack’s threat to hostage release efforts and expressing concernโค for theโ safety of allโ hostages,including German citizens. โWadephul โreiterated theโค call โfor Hamas to disarm and cease โค”acts of terror against the state of Israel,” while acknowledging the attack stemmed from โHamas’s initial terrorist attack on Israel on Octoberโค 7, 2023. Germany, a staunch ally of Israel, hasโค recently begun to publicly question Israel’s actions โคin Gaza, particularly concerning โtheโค escalating โhumanitarian crisis affecting civilians.