At White House, Netanyahu apologizes to Qatar over Doha strike…
Twenty days after the failed assassination attempt on senior Hamas officials in Doha, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an apology to the Qatari government. The apology came during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and was delivered in a phone call from the White House to Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed al-Thani, mediated by President Trump.
Netanyahu’s apology, made at Trump’s request, was for violating Qatar’s sovereignty. This followed an earlier statement from the U.S. indicating that Israel had committed not to carry out further operations on Qatari soil.
A Qatari delegation is currently in Washington following earlier discussions at the White House and is expected to coordinate a hostage deal linked to the ongoing conflict. Although Doha has refrained from making any official public statements, Qatar is reportedly demanding, among other conditions, that Israel provide compensation to the family of a Qatari security officer who was killed during the strike.
Shortly after the apology call, Qatar announced it would resume its mediation role in the ceasefire negotiations.
The incident traces back to September 9, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted an airstrike in Doha, Qatar’s capital, targeting senior Hamas officials. The IDF and the Shin Bet security service later confirmed in a joint statement that the Israeli air force had struck the top leadership of the terrorist organization.
Qatar strongly condemned the strike, labeling it a cowardly act and a blatant violation of international law. The operation, code-named “Summit of Fire,” aimed at Hamas leaders who had directed the group’s operations for years and were directly responsible for the October 7 massacre and leading the ongoing war against Israel.
Hamas denied that the strike was successful, claiming its leadership survived and asserting that the attack demonstrated Israel’s intention to block any chance of a negotiated deal. Later that month, several senior Hamas officials who reportedly survived the strike gave interviews to the media.
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkbbh400hxg
