Netanyahu calls for elimination of Hamas leaders in Qatar

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again stressed the need to eliminate the leaders of the Palestinian movement Hamas, currently based in Qatar.

He made the remarks in a post on X, per Caliber.Az.

Hamas leaders remain alive and are responsible for obstructing the negotiation process on Gaza.

“The Hamas terror chiefs living in Qatar couldn’t care less about the people in Gaza. Eliminating them would remove the main obstacle to freeing all our hostages and ending the war,” he wrote.

The Israel-Hamas conflict escalated dramatically on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages. Israel's subsequent military campaign in Gaza has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths and a humanitarian crisis, with ongoing ceasefire negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S. to secure hostage releases and end the war.

Qatar has hosted Hamas's political leadership since 2012, following a U.S. request to facilitate indirect communications with the group. This arrangement, initially approved by Israel, allowed senior figures like former leader Ismail Haniyeh (assassinated in Iran in July 2024) and current key negotiator Khalil al-Hayya to reside in Doha. Qatar has provided over $1.8 billion in aid to Gaza, including $30 million monthly transfers (with Israeli and U.S. consent until 2023), positioning itself as a neutral mediator. However, tensions have grown, with the U.S. urging Qatar in 2024 to expel Hamas leaders if they reject hostage deals.

On September 9, 2025, Israel conducted an unprecedented airstrike in Doha targeting Hamas leaders, including al-Hayya, during ceasefire talks. The attack killed five Hamas members (including al-Hayya's son and bodyguards) and one Qatari security officer but failed to eliminate senior figures. It drew global condemnation, including from Qatar (which called it "state terror") and the U.S. (with President Trump expressing unhappiness), as it violated Qatari sovereignty and derailed negotiations. Netanyahu defended the strike as justified retaliation for recent attacks, comparing it to U.S. operations against al-Qaeda.

By Khagan Isayev