Funeral services have been held for the six people killed in an Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha, as Arab leaders continue to visit the Gulf nation to express solidarity.
One coffin bearing a Qatari flag and five others bearing Palestinian flags were brought to Doha’s Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque, live footage from Qatar television showed on Thursday.
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“The mood has been sombre since the death toll from Israel’s failed assassination attempt against the leadership of Hamas in Doha was announced earlier this week,” Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javed reported.
“We heard the Qatari prime minister giving special prayers for him at the funeral ceremony,” he added.
The Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was also present, standing in the front row, “signalling that Qatar stands by its people, especially with those who gave their lives in this unprecedented attack on a Gulf Cooperation Council country”, Bin Javed said, reporting from the Qatari capital.
The Israeli military targeted Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday as they were meeting to discuss the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal put forth by US President Donald Trump.
At least six people were killed in the attack, including five low-ranking Hamas members. However, the group said its leadership survived the assassination bid.
Qatari Lance Corporal Badr Saad Mohammed al-Humaidi al-Dosari was also among the killed.
In the aftermath of the Doha attack, US President Donald Trump said he felt “very badly” about the location of the attacks and later told reporters he was “not thrilled” by Israel’s actions.
Former Israeli government adviser Daniel Levy says Israel’s attack against a Hamas delegation in Qatar sends a message not just to the Palestinian group, but to the region.
“Either get on board with our project of regional hegemony, which includes the displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, or we dare you because we have America on our side and we are unassailable militarily,” Levy said.
Arab states express solidarity
A slew of Arab and Muslim leaders descended on Doha since Israel’s unprecedented attack, including United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who met the emir on Wednesday.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also arrived in the Qatari capital to express his country’s show of support for the tiny Gulf nation. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was expected in Doha on Thursday.
The Qatari Emir also received a verbal message of solidarity from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Thursday, conveyed by his Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during a meeting in Doha.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Abdelatty’s visit was aimed at expressing the country’s “full solidarity” with Qatar and “to discuss ways to deal with the dangerous Israeli escalation and coordinate positions” with senior Qatari officials.
Qatar will convene an emergency Arab-Islamic summit to discuss Israel’s attack, according to the state news agency QNA, a possible hint of what shape a collective regional response would take.
The summit will take place in Doha on Sunday and Monday.
The announcement came as the United Nations Security Council opened an emergency session on Thursday to discuss the attack, which was delayed a day to allow the Qatari prime minister to attend the meeting.
All 15 members, including the US, condemned the strikes, though they did not specifically mention Israel in their statement, which called for “de-escalation” and expressed “support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Qatar.
“Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority,” said the statement.
Hamas condemns the attack
Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum, in a televised statement on Thursday, said the Israeli attempt to assassinate Hamas’s negotiating delegation in Doha and continued threats to target the movement’s leadership abroad showed Israel’s “failure to achieve its goals” after 23 months of genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians.
In the Palestinian group’s first address since Tuesday’s attack, Barhoum said that the group will keep fighting despite the assassination attempt.
“The Israeli attack cannot dent our resolve by targeting our leaders,” the Hamas spokesperson said. “The crime did not target the negotiating delegation, but rather the entire negotiation process.”
The attack on Tuesday was the first such attack by Israel on Qatar, which has been a key mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has dubbed Israel’s targeting of Hamas leaders “state terrorism”.
“There is a response that will happen from the region. This response is currently under consultation and discussion with other partners in the region,” he told US media outlet CNN on Wednesday, adding that “the entire Gulf region is at risk”.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed undeterred, threatening further attacks on Qatar.
“I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don’t, we will,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday.
Israel has assassinated many of Hamas’s top military and political leaders in the last two years, such as top political leader Yahya Sinwar; military commander Mohammed Deif, one of the founders of the Qassam Brigades in the 1990s; and political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Iran’s capital, Tehran.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli prime minister’s comments, calling them a “shameful attempt … to justify the cowardly attack that targeted Qatari territory, as well as the explicit threats of future violations of state sovereignty”.
On Thursday, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs “condemned and denounced” Netanyahu’s comments, calling them “hostile”.
