Hamas accused the US of complicity in Israel's attack on negotiators in Qatar. Photo / Getty Images
Hamas has accused the United States of complicity in Israel’s deadly attack on its negotiators in Qatar, lambasting Israel for seeking to kill off Gaza truce talks as Doha buried the dead.
The unprecedented Israeli strikes on a Gulf state sent shockwaves through a region long shielded from conflicts and halted already floundering Gaza talks.
“This crime was ... an assassination of the entire negotiation process and a deliberate targeting of the role of our mediating brothers in Qatar and Egypt,” Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said in a televised statement.
In Doha, tight security surrounded the mosque where prayers were held as the Gulf state’s ruler joined mourners.
One coffin bearing a Qatari flag and five others bearing Palestinian flags were brought into the mosque, live footage from Qatar television showed.
Facing the coffins, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, prayed alongside dozens of mourners, some wearing traditional white robes, others wearing military uniform.
The dead were buried in the Mesaimeer Cemetery after the funeral at Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque.
Authorities beefed up security, with checkpoints on access roads to the mosque.
Barhoum accused Washington of being “a full accomplice” in the Israeli attack.
The UN Security Council has condemned the strikes on Doha, without naming Israel.
The Security Council “underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar”, said the statement, which required the agreement of all 15 council members, including Israel’s ally the United States.
The White House said Trump did not agree with Israel’s decision to take military action.
He said he was not notified in advance and when he heard, he asked his envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar immediately – but the attack had already started.
Israel said it targeted Hamas leaders but the group said its top officials survived.
Hamas said five of its members were killed – top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya’s son Hamam, his office director Jihad Labad and bodyguards Ahmad Mamlouk, Abdallah Abdelwahd and Mumen Hassoun.
Qatari Lance Corporal Badr Saad Mohammed al-Humaidi al-Dosari was also killed.
Barhoum said Hayya’s wife, his slain son’s wife and his grandchildren were wounded in the attack on the compound where he lived.
In an interview with CNN, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he could not confirm Hayya’s fate.
The Hamas chief negotiator was not seen at the funeral, in the footage viewed by AFP.
Pictures shared on Hamas’ Telegram channel showed Osama Hamdan – a senior figure in the movement – attending the burial of the movement’s dead, with political bureau member Izzat al-Rishq.
A post by the group said several Hamas members were present at the funeral.
Sheikh Mohammed said the Israeli attack had killed any hope for Israeli hostages in Gaza, adding that Qatar was reevaluating “everything” surrounding its role as mediator in ceasefire talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed this week that “there will be no Palestinian state”, despite preparations by several Western governments to recognise the State of Palestine at the United Nations later this month.
“This place belongs to us,” he said, as he attended a signing ceremony for a major settlement project in the occupied West Bank that the United Nations has described as an “existential threat” to the viability of a Palestinian state.
Doha has been a venue for several rounds of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel.
The emirate allowed Hamas to set up a political office in Doha in 2012 with the blessing of the United States, which has sought to maintain a communication channel with the group.
Sheikh Mohammed said he hoped for a collective regional response to the attack and that an Arab-Islamic summit would be held in Doha to decide on a course of action.
The attack has drawn sharp condemnation and a show of solidarity from Gulf neighbours.
The United Arab Emirates said “any aggression against a GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] member state constitutes an attack on the collective Gulf security framework”.
- Agence France-Presse