Qatar accuses Netanyahu of deliberately obstructing Gaza mediation efforts

Qatar has harshly criticised Israel’s prime minister, accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately obstructing ceasefire and hostage release negotiations with Hamas for personal political gain.

Doha’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, said on Wednesday night that his government was “appalled” by leaked remarks allegedly made by Netanyahu in which he criticised the country’s mediation efforts over the war in Gaza, adding that the Israeli leader’s comments were “irresponsible and destructive” but “not surprising”.

“If the reported remarks are found to be true, the Israeli PM would only be obstructing and undermining the mediation process, for reasons that appear to serve his political career instead of prioritising saving innocent lives, including Israeli hostages,” Ansari wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Netanyahu’s office is yet to issue a response in the public spat, which threatens to complicate the already arduous negotiations on aid, a ceasefire and the release of approximately 130 hostages believed to still be in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

At least 20 people were killed and 150 wounded while waiting for the distribution of aid in Gaza City, local authorities said on Thursday, as fierce fighting continues to rage across the besieged coastal territory. Hamas blamed Israel for the attack. The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Thursday, Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, fanned the flames with a post on X accusing Qatar of being responsible for the 7 October Hamas attack, calling the Gulf state the “patron of Hamas” and “a country that supports terrorism and finances terrorism”.

Ansari’s statement came in response to recordings of Netanyahu’s closed-door meeting with family members of hostages earlier this week obtained by Israel’s Channel 12, in which he reportedly said Qatar’s role in the mediation process was “problematic”.

The prime minister allegedly told the relatives he had intentionally not thanked Doha for its efforts to date and that he had expressed anger towards the US, Israel’s most important ally, for deciding to keep a military base in the semi-democratic oil state.

“Qatar in my opinion is no different, in essence, from the UN. It is no different, in essence, from the Red Cross, and in some ways it is even more problematic,” he said. “I am prepared to use any actor at the moment that will help me get [the hostages] home. I haven’t any illusions about [Qatar]. They have