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Qatar threatened to “retaliate” against Israel in the wake of an airstrike in Doha that targeted the leaders of Hamas, as the country’s prime minister called the situation a “decisive moment” for the Middle East.
“The State of Qatar is committed to act in a decisive way with anything that would target its territories and will reserve the right to retaliate and will take all the needed measures to retaliate,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani declared at a news conference Tuesday, according to a translation by the Qatar-based news organization Al Jazeera.
Al-Thani described Israel’s strike on Hamas as “state terrorism that is being exerted by someone like [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.”
“I think that we have reached a decisive moment. There should be retaliation from the whole region in the face of those barbaric actions that only [reflect] one thing: It reflects the barbarism of this person that is leading the region, unfortunately, to a point where we cannot address any situation, and we cannot repair anything, and we cannot work within the frameworks of international laws,” al-Thani added. “He just violates all those international laws.”
TRUMP DIRECTED ENVOY TO WARN QATAR AHEAD OF ‘UNFORTUNATE’ ISRAELI STRIKE, WHITE HOUSE SAYS
Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin were two targets of the explosion that rocked the Middle Eastern nation’s capital on Tuesday, according to Israeli media reports.
Al-Hayya recently was involved in talks for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas.
Zaher Jabarin is responsible for Hamas’ finances and is a key player in the terrorist organization’s West Bank operations. He reportedly was involved in the negotiations as well, although his role was less prominent.
Hamas claimed in a statement Tuesday that Israel failed to “assassinate the brothers in the negotiating delegation.”
OPINION: ISRAEL’S DOHA STRIKE SENT A DECISIVE MESSAGE THAT TERROR WILL FIND NO SAFE HAVEN
The White House revealed Tuesday that prior to the strike, President Donald Trump “immediately directed” his special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff to inform Qatar of the “impending attack” by Israel.
“This morning, the Trump administration was notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas, which very unfortunately was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar,” White House press secretary Karoline 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.”
“However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal. President Trump immediately directed special envoy Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did,” Leavitt added.
A spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs later pushed back on Leavitt’s remarks, saying, “statements being circulated about Qatar being informed of the attack in advance are baseless.”
“The call from a U.S. official came during the sound of explosions caused by the Israeli attack in Doha,” the official wrote on X.
Fox News’ Thomas Ferraro contributed to this report.
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