Qatar threatens to end Gaza mediation role
• World rallies around Doha as Trump rebukes Netanyahu, distances himself from attack on Hamas
• Pakistan, Algeria and Somalia request emergency Security Council session
• MBS, UAE ruler also back Qatar; Canada says will ‘evaluate’ ties with Israel
DOHA / ISLAMABAD / JERUSALEM: As the world rallied around Qatar after Israel’s reckless targeting of Hamas leaders on its soil, it’s leader declared that Benjamin Netanyahu had been wasting their time with the mediation process.
Doha and Egypt have been instrumental in US-backed attempts to hammer out a ceasefire in Gaza, and have been working tirelessly to help secure a deal that would see prisoners being freed on both sides.
But despite their best efforts, and great flexibility demonstrated by Hamas, Israel has repeatedly moved the goalpost, and ‘ghosted’ negotiators after the Palestinian group agreed to the last draft, already vetted by the US.
Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, Qatari PM Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the Israeli PM was leading the Middle East towards chaos, adding that today, the entire Gulf region was at risk.
He also revealed that in the wake of the Israeli aggression, Qatar was reassessing everything about its mediating role in the Gaza conflict — as well as Hamas’ future on its territory.
The Qatari PM’s remarks came as the world bristled over Israel’s unprovoked attack, which claimed the lives of at least five members of Hamas’ negotiating team.
Even its most staunch ally, the United States, seemed to waver, with President Donald Trump giving Netanyahu a rare slap on the wrist while denying any role in the attack.
Trump said he was not notified in advance of the Israeli attack on the Gulf state, and said he wasn’t “thrilled about the whole situation”.
Qatar, in addition to its role in the Gaza negotiations, is home to a huge US airbase, and also recently gave Trump a luxury Boeing 747-8 jet to use as his presidential plane.
“This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me,” Trump said in a post on social media, insisting that he viewed Qatar as a strong ally and friend.
Trump also focused on the possible damage to his efforts to end the war in Gaza, saying that unilaterally bombing Qatar does not advance Israel or America’s goals.
The US president added that he had assured Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in a phone call that “such a thing will not happen again on their soil.”
Israel, however, doubled down, insisting that it would strike its enemies anywhere in the world.
“There is no place where they can hide,” Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X, while Israeli ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter told Fox News that even if they failed to kill Hamas leaders in Tuesday’s airstrike, the would “succeed next time”.
World rallies around Doha
Pakistan on Wednesday joined Algeria and Somalia in convening an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council and backed calls for a summit of Muslim countries after Israel carried out air strikes in Doha targeting a Hamas delegation of peace negotiators.
The UNSC session, initially scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, was postponed after Qatar requested rescheduling to allow its Prime Minister to attend. The meeting is now set for Thursday.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Pakistan had formally requested an urgent UN Security Council session to take up Israel’s “aggression against Qatar as a grave threat to international peace and security”.
He also called on the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and in coordination with Gulf states, to hold a debate on the strikes.
The upcoming UNSC meeting is expected to address the serious implications of the Israeli escalation and discuss appropriate international responses.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman also came out in support of Doha, saying that Riyadh rejected and condemned Israel’s “assaults” in the region.
“The brutal aggression against the sisterly state of Qatar requires Arab, Islamic and international action,” he said in a televised address, calling on the international community to confront Israeli aggression.
Meanwhile, the attack generated a flurry of diplomacy between Arab states. United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan led a delegation of some of his most senior ministers to Qatar on Wednesday, where he met with Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his cabinet.
Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein is also expected to visit Qatar, while the Saudi crown prince is expected to arrive today Thursday, an official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The visits, which were not previously scheduled, were a show of regional solidarity with Qatar following the Israeli strikes, the official said.
Canada also said it was evaluating its relationship with Israel after the attack on Qatar, saying it considered the action unacceptable, especially given Qatari attempts to facilitate peace in the Middle East.
Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2025
