STATE terrorism manifested itself fully when Israel launched an airstrike against the leaders of Hamas in Qatar on Tuesday, expanding its wide-ranging military actions in the Middle East to include the Gulf Arab State where the Palestinian group has long had its political base and potentially dealing a fatal blow to the Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
According to Hamas, its top leadership has survived but five of its members including the son of its exiled Gaza chief and main negotiator Khalil al-Hayya had been killed in the aggression. Qatar’s Interior Ministry said a member of its internal security forces was killed and several others wounded.
The Israeli move has evoked strong condemnation from around the globe because of the gruesome nature of the attack as besides targeting the political leadership of Hamas, the Jewish State carried out aggression against a sovereign country. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the Israeli strikes are a flagrant violation of sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Qatar. The United Arab Emirates, which normalized relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords in 2020, called the Israeli attack on Doha “blatant and cowardly”. Saudi Arabia saw it as a ‘brutal Israeli aggression’ against Qatar’s sovereignty. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Israel’s attack on Hamas officials in Qatar is ‘dangerous’ and a ‘violation of international law’. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif telephoned the Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to condemn the unlawful and heinous bombing in Doha by Israeli forces. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also denounced the Israeli attack on Doha, saying that targeting civilians and sovereign territory was an indefensible act of aggression. Britain, France and Germany condemned Israel’s air strikes against Hamas political leaders, with French President Emmanuel Macron calling them “unacceptable regardless of motive” and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer terming them a violation of sovereignty. What an irony that Israel sent missiles at Doha as Hamas leaders were meeting in the Qatari capital for talks on the latest ceasefire proposal from the United States to end the war in Gaza. Israel justified its naked aggression claiming Hamas was a terrorist organization, forgetting Tel Aviv has killed over 87,000 defenceless Gazans during the last two years of its state-sponsored terrorism and that in November 2024 the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants of its Prime Minister Netanyahu after finding him guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Another gory aspect of the entire episode is that Tel Aviv has carried out aggression and violated sovereignty of a state that has relentlessly been working for restoration of peace in the Middle East. Qatar, together with Egypt, has been hosting peace talks aimed at a ceasefire in Gaza and the country never harboured aggression against any other country. It is also regrettable that the attack was carried out with full knowledge and connivance of the United States, which claims to be an ally of Qatar and has its largest military base in the country. The remarks of White House spokesperson clearly show the US had prior information and considered action against Hamas as justified. The spokesperson claimed the US conveyed a warning to Qatar in advance but this has promptly and strongly been denied by Doha. Israeli terrorism should serve as an eye-opener for the entire civilized world as Tel Aviv is disregarding international law and the will of the global community. It is continuing with its lethal attacks in Gaza and in the latest move has ordered city dwellers to evacuate in line with its policy of annexing the territory illegally. There are also reports that Israel was contemplating to carry out Doha-style attacks in Turkiye to kill Hamas leaders. Turkiye has the capability to respond in kind as was done by Iran but Gulf States must invest on their defence as sovereignty and security should not be left at the mercy of unreliable allies and partners.
