Qatar’s prime minister accused Israel of ignoring the hostages in the Gaza Strip when it attacked Hamas leaders in Doha, but he vowed Thursday not to abandon efforts to end the nearly two-year war.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that Israel went “beyond any borders, any limitations” with the strike in Qatar's capital this week, violating his country's sovereignty and threatening regional peace.
“Israel is trying to rearrange the region by force,” he said. But “we will continue our humanitarian and diplomatic role without any hesitation in order to stop the bloodshed.”
Israel’s airstrike killed at least six people as Hamas leaders gathered to consider a US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. It risked upending negotiations that have been mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
“Extremists that rule Israel today do not care about the hostages — otherwise, how do we justify the timing of this attack?” Sheikh Mohammed said. He told CNN late Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was directly to blame for killing “any hope for those hostages.”
In response, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said that “history will not be kind to accomplices.”
“Either Qatar condemns Hamas, expels Hamas, and brings Hamas to justice. Or Israel will,” Danon said.
