Qatar’s top diplomat says Israel has undermined Doha’s efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza from ‘day one’.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has condemned Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, saying whoever is responsible for the devastation in the besieged Palestinian territory is a “war criminal”.
Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Qatar’s foreign minister, made the remark on Tuesday on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” when asked about the nature of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.
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He described the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October ۷, ۲۰۲۳, as “a massacre” that “should be condemned”. He called for accountability for the perpetrators of that attack, but said the Israeli response was unjustified.
“Hospitals have been targeted, schools have been targeted. Whatever the justifications and the arguments, nothing is justifying this,” he added.
Sheikh Mohammed also criticised Israel’s near-daily violations of the “ceasefire” that took effect in October ۲۰۲۵, saying more than ۱,۴۰۰ Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had been killed since.
“There is more occupied territory – almost ۷۰ percent of the Strip has been occupied and not allowed by the Israeli forces. They are not fulfilling their commitments of this agreement,” he said. “This is just showing that they have different intentions.”
He said Qatar’s efforts to broker a ceasefire had been repeatedly “undermined” by Israel “from day one of the war”.
He also condemned Israel’s strike on the Qatari capital, Doha, in ۲۰۲۵, which targeted senior Hamas officials who had gathered for negotiations. The attack, which caused a deadly explosion, was an unprecedented violation of Qatar’s sovereignty.
“We were attacked by Israel while we were mediating and trying to push for Trump’s proposal at that time in Doha,” he said, referring to US President Donald Trump. “It was unacceptable and condemned. It’s setting a precedent of attacking the mediator that has never happened throughout the wars in history.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu has crossed the line”, he added, “like he has crossed other lines before that”.
Sheikh Mohammed said that serving as a mediator had not been easy, but that he believed quiet diplomacy was the most effective way to make progress.
Qatar has also been playing a mediatory role, along with Pakistan, between the United States and Iran following the launch of the US-Israel war on Iran.
“We are trying to do our best to give the best advice to the US government on how to reach a solution, as well as to the Iranians,” he said.
Sheikh Mohammed said that three matters needed to be resolved to end the war.
These are: an agreement on Tehran’s right to “peaceful nuclear power” and the removal of sanctions; agreement on freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz according to international law; and reform of regional security arrangements, including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Iran.
The last, he said, “wouldn’t happen without dialogue between Iran and GCC and setting the principles of what a good neighbourhood relationship should be”.
That should include, he said, “non-interference in each other’s affairs” and “non-aggression” against each other.
He added that if the region were to “build an area of common interest where we work together in areas of energy and economy, and trade and business”, it would “allow the chance for this region to unleash its potential”.
