Qatar‘s Prime Minister Accuses Israel of Disregarding โคHostage Lives
DOHA, QATAR – Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman โAl โThani sharply criticized Israel on Thursday, asserting โthat Israeliโข leaders “do not care” about the โฃhostages held in Gaza. The statement comes amid stalled negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, and following a reported Israeli strike in Doha.
Al Thani’s remarks reflect growing frustration with the ongoing impasse,as mediators-including Qatar,Egypt,and the United States-struggle to bridgeโฃ the gap between Israel’s demandsโฃ and Hamas’s conditions.Qatar has played a key role inโ past hostage negotiations, facilitating the release of some captivesโฃ in November 2023.
Hamasโ claimed its โฃsenior leaders survived the Doha strike, but five lower-level members and a Qatari security officer wereโ killed in the โขattack. Funerals โขfor the deceased were held Thursday, attended by Qatar’s ruling emir, โSheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Hamas has a history ofโค delaying confirmation of leader โคassassinations.
The United Arab Emirates also issued a โwarning Thursday, stating โthat further “provocative and unfriendly rhetoric” from Israel threatens regional stability and “pushes the region towards extremelyโ hazardous trajectories.” The UAE considers aggression against any Gulf Cooperationโ Council member-includingโฃ Qatar-anโ attack on collective Gulf security.Despite being a signatory to the 2020 Abraham Accords normalizing โคties with Israel, โtheโฃ UAE recently blocked Israeli firms from participating in the Dubai Air Show.
Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians continue to flee Gaza City anticipating an Israeliโ offensive.The operation aims to seize the city, already heavily damaged by โprevious raids and facing conditions experts have described as famine. Israel denies widespread starvation, claiming sufficientโ aid is entering Gaza and accusing Hamas of diversion. U.N. agencies dispute โthese claims, citing Israeli restrictions and the โขongoing offensive as obstacles to aid delivery.