Pope Leo says Israel’s attack in Doha ‘very serious’, UN chief condemns ‘violation of Qatar’s sovereignty’

Pope Leo condemns Israeli airstrike

“There’s some really serious news right now: Israel’s attack on some Hamas leaders in Qatar,” the pontiff told journalists outside his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.

Pope Leo XIV said must continue working and insisting on peace. (Photo: AP)

“The entire situation is very serious,” Pope Leo said. “We do not know how things will go. It is really serious.”

“We must continue working and insisting on peace,” the American-born pope who met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Vatican last week, said.

Pope Leo, who became the head of the Catholic Church in May this year, has been vocal about his frustration over the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

UN chief calls it violation of Qatar’s sovereignty

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also condemns the Israeli attack on Hamas’s headquarters in Doha, calling it a flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty.

“We are just learning about the Israeli attacks in Qatar, a country that has been playing a very positive role to achieve a ceasefire and the release of all hostages,” Guterres said at a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

“I condemn this flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” he said, adding that “all parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it.”

US silent on Israeli airstrike

While several world leaders have condemned the Israeli airstrike, the notable silence has been from the United States. A White House official told AFP that the US was informed in advance by Israel about the airstrike.

Israeli targeted the top leadership of Hamas in Doha (Photo: Reuters)

Earlier this year, the United States had accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jetliner as a gift from Qatar, which was to be used as Air Force One.

Did Israel hit its target?

On Tuesday, the Israeli airstrike targeted the top leadership of Hamas as they were meeting to discuss a new ceasefire deal put forward by the US.

While Hamas sources told Reuters that the terror group’s officials in the ceasefire negotiating team survived the Israeli attack, in Jerusalem, the leadership is optimistic that the strike was successful.

“It looks good, we knew Hamas would try to hide what happened there,” Israel’s Army Radio cited a defence official as saying.

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