Qatari officials offered mixed claims on whether or not the Gulf State had officially suspended its mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas toward a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal in response to a Tuesday Israeli attack on its soil targeting the Palestinian terrorist organization’s leaders.
Khaled Mashaal, a prominent Hamas official who is viewed as a more pragmatic figure, was not in the building at the time of the attack, an Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post.
It would be more likely to reach an agreement on ending the war in Gaza with Mashaal than without him, the source said.
However, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said that his country would continue negotiating in ongoing hostage and ceasefire talks.
"Qatar has spared no efforts and will do everything it can to stop this war in Gaza, but for current talks, I do not think there's something valid right now after what we saw from today's attack," al-Thani said at a news conference.
Hostage family forum speaks out after Qatar strikes
“The families of the hostages are following the developments in Doha with deep concern and anxiety,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.
“A grave fear now hangs over us in terms of the price that may be exacted on the hostages following this latest development,” it went on to say.
“The odds of getting them back now have become more obscure than ever before, with one thing of absolute certainty – their time is running out,” the forum said.
Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said, “It may very well be that at this very moment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sealed my son’s fate by actually assassinating my Matan.”
“Whoever deliberately decides to endanger my Matan’s life is murdering him. Why does [Netanyahu] insist on blowing up every opportunity for a deal? This is about my child’s life.”
Zangauker and the forum called for the end of the war, demanding that the government present an organized plan for a comprehensive agreement.
On Monday, an official briefed on hostage deal talks told Reuters that Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani pressured Hamas’s political leaders to “respond positively” to the latest US-proposed deal during talks in Doha.
“The Qatari prime minister pressed Hamas to respond positively to the latest American proposal, conveyed through mediators, and aimed at securing a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza,” the official said.
A diplomatic source told the Post earlier on Tuesday that “Hamas received the new proposal from the Qataris, which we [Israel] obtained from [US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve] Witkoff last week in Paris.”
“The prime minister met with the Hamas leadership yesterday, and they decided to meet again today to discuss the proposal, arriving from Turkey,” the source said.
“As it happened before, the Israelis undermined hopes for peace, further prolonging the war and complicating efforts to bring back the hostages,” Qatar responded.
Both the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) confirmed that Israel had attempted to assassinate members of the Hamas leadership in the Qatari capital of Doha. Hayya was one of the targets of the operation, an Israeli official confirmed to the Post. However, by press time, it appears he was not harmed in the attack.
As for Qatar, it condemned the “cowardly Israeli attack” on Hamas’s leadership.
Qatar condemns 'cowardly Israeli attack' on Hamas leadership
“The State of Qatar strongly condemns the cowardly Israeli attack that targeted residential buildings housing several members of the political bureau of Hamas in the Qatari capital, Doha,” said Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesperson of the Qatari Foreign Ministry.
“This criminal assault constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms, and poses a serious threat to the security and safety of the residents in Qatar,” he added.
“While Qatar strongly condemns this assault, it confirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and the ongoing disruption of regional security, nor any act that targets its security and sovereignty.”