Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted on Saturday, that removing Hamas leaders based in Qatar, whom Israel unsuccessfully targeted in a rare air strike on the US ally earlier this week, would eliminate the key barrier to concluding the Gaza war.
But Israel's own Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the attack was yet another example of Netanyahu sabotaging prospective peace deals.
Israel targeted the Hamas leadership in Doha through air strikes that were condemned by US ally Qatar, which has served as one of the venues for ceasefire talks.
The leaders had gathered in Doha to discuss a new ceasefire proposal put forward by US President Donald Trump's administration.
Read: Trump meets Qatari PM days after Israeli strike in Doha
Hamas has said five of its members, including a son of its exiled Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya, were killed in the attack, but its senior leaders and members of its negotiating team survived. Qatar has said a member of its internal security forces was also killed.
"The Hamas terrorist chiefs living in Qatar don't care about the people in Gaza. They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war," Netanyahu said in a post on X.
For the main Israeli group campaigning for the release of hostages held in Gaza, though, Netanyahu's decision to launch an attack on Hamas's leadership and negotiating team showed that it was the prime minister himself who was proving the greatest obstacle to freeing the captives.
Read more: Israeli strike: Shehbaz to attend Doha summit
"The targeted operation in Qatar proved beyond any doubt that there is one obstacle to returning the ... hostages and ending the war: Prime Minister Netanyahu. Every time a deal approaches, Netanyahu sabotages it," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement after the premier accused Hamas leaders of derailing efforts to end the war.
Hamas has described the Doha attack as an attempt by Israel to derail the ceasefire negotiations, and said it would not change the group's terms for ending the war in Gaza.
Israel has demanded Hamas free all remaining hostages held in Gaza and disarm. Hamas says it will not free all hostages without an agreement that would end the war, and will not give up its weapons until Palestinians have an independent state.
Israel's war on Gaza
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks across Gaza have killed at least 62,686 people and wounded 157,951, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the enclave says.
The latest deaths raise the total number of aid seekers who have been killed by Israeli fire since the establishment of the US- and Israel-backed GHF at the end of May to 2,095, with more than 15,431 wounded.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave. The proposed deal includes a pause in hostilities, increased humanitarian aid, and negotiations on the release of captives.
Israel began ramping up its attack on Gaza City late last month, saying it aimed to free remaining hostages held by Hamas from its October 7, 2023 attack, the bloodiest bout of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ