DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The Qatar prime minister said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “killed hope” to release hostages still held in the Gaza Strip after Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Before his appearance at the United Nations on Thursday, comments from Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani highlighted wider outrage among the Gulf Arab countries. Israel’s strike It killed at least six people.
“I was meeting one of the hostage family members on the morning of the attack,” Sheikh Mohammed told CNN in an interview that aired late Wednesday. “They rely on this (ceasefire) mediation. They have no other hopes for that.”
Sheikh Mohammed added:
His remarks came as thousands of Palestinians continued to flee Gaza city prior to Israel’s impending attacks. The number of leaving cities has grown recently, but many have rejected it as many say they have not lost the power or money to relocate.
The next phase of the Israeli army, known as Hamas’ last remaining base, is intended to take over the largest Palestinian city already devastated and experienced hunger from previous raids.
The plan has drawn widespread criticism and has already added it to Israel Unprecedented Global Separationfurther strengthened this week after the strike against Qatar.
Qatar’s diplomatic push
Attacks on the territory of US allies were wary of countries in the Middle East and beyond. I also marked it Dramatic Regional Escalation They put emergency consultations at risk, aimed at ending the war and freeing the hostages that Hamas of Gaza still held.
Sheikh Mohammed is expected to attend the UN Security Council meeting later on Thursday, part of Qatar’s diplomatic push after the strike, and Pakistan Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif was set up to visit Doha to highlight Pakistan’s support for Qatar’s security and sovereignty.
Qatar also said it is organizing an Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha next week to discuss the attack.
Hamas said Tuesday that its top leader survived the strike but five lower members have been killed, including the son of Hamas Gaza and its top negotiator leader, Khalil Al Hayya.
Hamas, who once confirmed the assassination of the leader several months later, offered no immediate evidence that Al Hayyah or other seniors had survived.
Qatar and Egypt were key mediators trying to reach a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. Qatar has hosted Hamas political leadership for many years in Doha over the US demand to encourage negotiations between extremist groups and Israel.
There was no immediate reaction to Sheikh Mohammed’s remarks from Netanyahu.
However, Netanyahu continued to defend a strike against Qatar the day after President Donald Trump tried to ease tensions among his US allies, sought to assure the Gulf state that there was no such strike in such soil.
“I either expel Qatar and all the countries that have terrorists, either you’re going to banish them or you’ll put them on trial,” Netanyahu said. “If you don’t, you’ll do that.”
Israeli media said the UAE was the first move by the Gulf Arab state over a strike, blocking the UAE from taking part in the Dubai Air Show in November. The Israeli Ministry of Defense told The Associated Press on Thursday it received a “industry notification from exhibitors.”
Airshow organizers and Emirates did not respond to requests for comment. However, this move brings about a very important importance, especially since the UAE only diplomatically recognized Israel five years ago.
Palestinians who were evacuated were forced to live on the streets
An estimated 1 million Palestinians (about half of Gaza’s total population) live in the northern Gaza area around Gaza city, according to the Israeli military and the United Nations. On Wednesday, donkey carts packed with dozens of vehicles, motorbikes and belongings lined up on the city’s coastal roads as they were about to leave.
Amal Sob, who was evacuated with 30 relatives (30 relatives, including 13 orphans), said the tricycle carrying his belongings broke down, and there was no fuel and his family was stuck.
After one of her boys developed a fever, the only food and medicine they could get was the bread that the passersby gave them.
“I have 13 orphans. The person in my lap, his temperature is like fire,” she told the Associated Press. “I don’t have the money to buy medicine for him.”
Um Mohamed al-Bogdadi said her family lost their tent and belongings on the Israeli strike.
“The tent is gone, and there’s nothing left in your clothes or even your belongings. We left a basil plant.”
Meanwhile, in Mwasi, located at the southern tip of the strip where Israel encourages people to move, Palestinians in northern Gaza struggled to find shelter due to overcrowding and lack of proper resources. Many are forced to live on the streets.
Atwah Awad said the assistance had not reached her or her family.
“I swear to God, that I don’t have a shekel to buy food,” she said. “I slept on the street tonight. Who will accept that I’m sleeping on the street? There’s no water, no food, no bathroom.”
More than 64,600 Palestinians have been killed in the war
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants raided southern Israel in 2023, slaying 251 people and killing 1,200, mostly civilians. The 48 hostages are still being held within Gaza, and it is believed that around 20 of them are alive.
Israeli retaliatory attacks have killed more than 64,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The ministry does not say how many civilians or combatants are, but it says women and children account for half of the deaths.
___
Hana was reported by Wadi Gaza in the Gaza Strip, while Shurafa reported from Deia Al Bala in the Gaza Strip. Authors of the UN Associated Press at the UN, Fanaus Amiri, and Melanie Ridman of Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to the report.
