Benjamin Netanyahu called Qatar’s prime minister from the White House and apologised for Israel’s strike on Doha, it emerged on Tuesday as Hamas weighed its response to Donald Trump’s new peace plan for Gaza.
In a joint call with Mr Trump, the Israeli prime minister conveyed “deep regret” to Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, prime minister of Qatar, over the death of a Qatari national in the 9 September attack, which sparked global condemnation.
The attack aimed to kill senior Hamas figures who had gathered to discuss an earlier Gaza ceasefire plan backed by the US; it ended up killing five lower-ranking Hamas members and a member of the Qatari security forces.
Qatar, a US ally and crucial mediator between Israel and Hamas, condemned the “cowardly attack” and urged the international community to punish Israel for its actions.
In the aftermath of the strike, Mr Trump said he was “not happy” with Israel and that the operation did not advance Israel’s or America’s goals. He nonetheless stopped short of openly criticising Mr Netanyahu for the attack.
A spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry told The Independent at the time that Mr Netanyahu was a “narcissistic saboteur-in-chief” who was determined to wreck any chance of peace in the Middle East.
The Qatari government had demanded an apology before it would resume any mediation between Israel and Hamas, Bloomberg reported.
The Israeli leader “as a first step” expressed his “deep regret that Israel’s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman”, the White House said in a statement on Monday. He “further expressed regret that, in targeting the Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future”.
The Qatari foreign ministry confirmed the call, adding that Mr Netanyahu “apologised for the attack on Doha and on Qatar’s sovereignty”.
Mr Trump later told a news conference that the Israeli and Qatari leaders “really had a heart-to-heart conversation” that was “productive”.
The apology could pave the way for progress on a 20-point proposal from the White House aimed at bringing an immediate end to the war in Gaza, where Israeli forces have killed more than 66,000 Palestinians so far, according to local health officials.
Hostilities will cease if both Hamas and Israel agree to the proposal. All Israeli hostages in Gaza, both dead and alive, will be returned within 72 hours, and hundreds of Palestinians taken by Israel will be released.
The plan envisages a temporary technocratic Palestinian administration overseeing Gaza, excluding Hamas from any governance role, while ensuring that Israel doesn’t annex the besieged territory. The makeup of the proposed governing body is unclear, but the plan names former British prime minister Tony Blair as a member.
Mr Netanyahu said he accepted the framework set out by Mr Trump. Hamas said they would analyse the proposal “in good faith” once they received a formal, written version.
Hamas was not involved in the latest proposal, which calls on the Islamist militant group to disarm, a demand it has previously rejected. However, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters that the group “would review it in good faith and provide a response”.
Meanwhile, at least 27 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Tuesday, local hospitals said.
In Netzarim, the Israeli-controlled corridor that bisects northern and southern Gaza, 17 Palestinians were killed and 33 wounded while attempting to access humanitarian aid, al-Awda hospital said. Separately, at least two Israeli strikes on tents in the region of Muwasi, previously deemed a safe zone by the Israeli military, killed 10 people.
Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza City on Tuesday, reaching the centre of the territory, which Mr Netanyahu has described as the last Hamas bastion.
Israeli planes also dropped new leaflets over the city ordering Palestinians to immediately leave and head south. “The battle against Hamas is decisive and will not end until it is defeated,” the leaflet said in red writing.
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