Qatar preparing regional response to Israeli attack on Doha: Prime minister

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Wednesday that a collective regional response is being prepared to counter Israel’s attack on Doha, stressing that consultations are underway with Arab and Islamic partners.

“There is a response that will happen from the region. This response is currently under consultation and discussion with other partners in the region,” Al Thani told CNN.

“We are hoping for something meaningful that deters Israel from continuing this bullying,” he said.

Al Thani confirmed that Doha will host an Arab-Islamic summit in the coming days to decide on measures against the Israeli assault, which targeted senior leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas who were meeting to discuss a US ceasefire proposal.

He expressed outrage over the strike, declaring: “I have no words to express how enraged we are at such an act. This is state terror. We are betrayed.”

He also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of destroying hopes for hostages in the Gaza Strip that are being held by Hamas and obstructing ceasefire efforts.

“I was meeting one of the hostages’ families the morning of the attack,” Al-Thani said. “They are counting on this (ceasefire) mediation. They have no other hope for that.”

“I’ve been rethinking, even about the entire process for the last few weeks, that Netanyahu was just wasting our time. Netanyahu just killed any hope for those hostages…He needs to be brought to justice…He’s breaking every law – he broke every international law,” he said.

The Qatari leader added that his country is reassessing its role in any future Gaza ceasefire talks in light of the strike on its capital.

Al Thani did not reveal the fate of Hamas leader and chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, saying: “Until now…there is no official declaration.”

The Palestinian group initially said that five of its members were killed in the strike but Israel failed to assassinate the negotiating delegation.

“We are trying to identify if there is any other one missing…there are Qataris who are in a very dangerous situation,” he added.

He further highlighted that Netanyahu is leading the Middle East toward chaos, stressing that the entire Gulf region is now at risk.

The Israeli airstrike on Doha has drawn a wave of condemnations as a blatant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and international law.​​​​​​​

Israel has killed more than 64,600 Palestinians in a brutal offensive in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and pushed the territory’s population into famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.