Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has apologised to the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, over the air strike in Doha earlier this month.
Netanyahu spoke to Al Thani over the phone from the White House, where he apologised for violating Qatar’s sovereignty. In the phone call that lasted several minutes, Netanyahu also reportedly expressed regret over the death of a Qatari security guard during the air strike on September 9.
The White House also confirmed that Netanyahu spoke to Al Thani and apologised to the Qatari leader, while assuring that such an attack will not be carried out in the future.
Channel 12 and Israeli public broadcaster KAN also reported that Netanyahu’s apology was a prerequisite for Doha’s continued involvement in hostage and ceasefire negotiations, as Qatar had been refusing to mediate negotiations with Hamas since the Israeli strike.
On Monday, Sky News Arabia further reported that Qatar has informed the Trump administration that it would be able to persuade Hamas to disarm and accept Trump’s 21-point peace plan for Gaza.
Israel carried out one of the most controversial cross-border air strikes in recent times earlier this month, targeting top Hamas leaders who were meeting to discuss a peace deal proposed by the US.
Despite the building in the Qatari capital being hit, the Israeli air strike had failed to achieve its goal as the Hamas top leadership escaped unhurt.
Initially, Israel had claimed that the operation, code-named “Summit of Fire,” was a success and Hamas leaders targeted in the strike were eliminated. But later Netanyahu claimed that the air strike had sent a message to Hamas that they are not safe anywhere.
The air strike, however, resulted in bringing the Arab countries together to denounce Israel’s actions and also led to Trump publicly rebuking Netanyahu and assuring Qatar that such actions will not be repeated. Qatar is a key ally of the US in the Middle East and is home to a US air base.