 "'Qatar harbours and funds Hamas': Netanyahu defends strike on Hamas meeting in Doha")
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said that last week’s strike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar was “justified” due to the Gulf state’s connections to the group.
“Qatar is connected to Hamas, it harbours Hamas, it funds Hamas. It has strong levers (that it could pull), but it chose not to,” AFP quoted Netanyahu as saying during a press conference.
“Therefore our action was entirely justified,” he added.
The strike on the Hamas meeting in Doha was unprecedented: it was the first time Israel hit targets in US‑ally Qatar.
Six people were killed, none of them the senior Hamas leaders Israel says it was targeting, according to both militant sources and Israeli reports.
Qatar — which has no diplomatic relations with Israel — has long hosted Hamas leadership and has acted as a mediator in ceasefire negotiations and hostage release talks following the October 7, 2023 attack that led to the Gaza war.
From 2018 to 2023, it provided monthly cash aid to Gaza under Hamas control with approval from Netanyahu’s cabinet.
Earlier this year, Israeli media reported that two of Netanyahu’s aides are under Shin Bet investigation for allegedly receiving payments from Qatar — a scandal dubbed “Qatargate.”
Netanyahu, summoned to testify in March, dismissed the probe as a “political witch hunt.”
The controversy is believed to have played a role in the removal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and moves against Attorney General Gali Baharav‑Miara, as reported by Israeli outlets.
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