Qatar has hit back at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a strongly worded statement early on Thursday, describing his remarks about the Gulf country's hosting of a Hamas office as "reckless".
The heated exchange came more than a day after Israel attempted to kill Hamas political leaders in an air strike on Qatar on Tuesday, escalating its military campaign in the Middle East and prompting a flurry of international condemnations.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu warned Qatar to either expel Hamas officials or "bring them to justice. Because if you don't, we will." He also accused Qatar of providing safe haven and financing to Hamas, drawing a sharp rebuke from Doha.
In exclusive CNN interview on Wednesday, Prime Minister of Qatar His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said, "what Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages.”
“I’ve been rethinking, even about the entire process for the last few weeks, that Netanyahu was just wasting our time,” he added in the same interview, referring to the ceasefire talks.
In a statement, Qatar's foreign ministry condemned what it described as Netanyahu's "explicit threats of future violations of state sovereignty".
"Netanyahu is fully aware that the hosting of the Hamas office took place within the framework of Qatar's mediation efforts requested by the United States and Israel," the ministry added.
"The negotiations were always held in an official and transparent manner, with international support and in the presence of U.S. and Israeli delegations. Netanyahu's insinuation that Qatar secretly harbored the Hamas delegation is a desperate attempt to justify a crime condemned by the entire world," the statement said.
Qatar, along with Egypt, has been mediating peace talks between Hamas and Israel. It warned that Israel's attack on Doha threatened to derail those negotiations.
"We will work with our partners to ensure Netanyahu is held accountable and that his reckless and irresponsible actions are brought to an end," the foreign ministry said.
The Israeli ambassador to the United States said after the operation that if Israel failed to kill Hamas leaders in an airstrike on Qatar on Tuesday, it would succeed next time, which raised concerns it would torpedo efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.
"We have put terrorists on notice, wherever they may be .... we're going to pursue them, and we're going to destroy those who will destroy us," Yechiel Leiter said in a speech at the U.S. Capitol complex on Wednesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his decision to target Hamas inside Qatar wasn't wise, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing senior administration officials.
Trump made the comments during what the Journal described as a heated phone call on Tuesday after the attack.
According to the newspaper, Netanyahu responded that he had a brief window to launch the strikes and took the opportunity.
A second call between the men later on Tuesday was cordial, with Trump asking Netanyahu if the attack had proven successful, the Journal reported.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council postponed a planned Wednesday meeting until Thursday at the request of Qatar so the country’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, could attend.
Al-Thani told CNN on Wednesday that a response to Israel's attacks was being discussed with regional partners and leaders would meet in Doha in the near future. When asked if Doha would shut down Hamas' political office, he said his government was "reassessing everything" about what steps it would take.
"We are in a very detailed conversation with the United States' government and we need to understand what will be the way forward," he said.
Impact on ceasefire talks unclear
Asked how the strike would affect ceasefire negotiations, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he did not know.
"Hamas has rejected everything so far. They continually reject every offer that's put on the table," he told Reuters.
The militant group, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but now controls only parts of the Strip, on Saturday once again said that it would release all hostages if Israel agreed to end the war and withdraw its forces from Gaza.
Netanyahu is pushing for an all-or-nothing deal that would see all of the hostages released at once and Hamas surrendering.
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