TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsIsrael's Netanyahu says Qatar funds Hamas, strike 'justified'
The bombing resulted in the death of six people, none of whom were the top Hamas officials Israel was targeting, according to the militant group and Israeli sources quoted by national media.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement during the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July“ celebration, hosted by Newsmax in Jerusalem on Aug. 13, 2025. (AFP/Ronen Zvulun)
I
sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that a strike against Hamas officials in Qatar last week was "justified" by the Gulf state's ties to the group.
"Qatar is connected to Hamas, it bolsters Hamas, it harbors Hamas, it funds Hamas... It has strong levers (that it could pull), but it chose not to," Netanyahu said during a press conference.
"Therefore our action was entirely justified."
The unprecedented attack on the Hamas meeting in Doha was the first such Israeli strike on fellow US ally Qatar.
The bombing resulted in the death of six people, none of whom were the top Hamas officials Israel was targeting, according to the militant group and Israeli sources quoted by national media.
In response to the strike, Qatar convened an emergency summit of the Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Monday that brought together nearly 60 countries to call for firm action against Israel.
Qatar has no diplomatic ties with Israel and has long hosted leaders of the Palestinian militant group, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.
It has also played a pivotal role in mediating between Israel and Hamas in negotiations for a ceasefire in the war and the release of the 251 Israeli hostages captured by Palestinian militants during that assault.
Between 2018 and 2023, Qatar sent millions of dollars in monthly cash handouts and aid to Hamas-run Gaza, with the approval of Netanyahu's cabinet at the time.
Earlier this year, Israeli media reported that two of Netanyahu's aides were being investigated by the Shin Bet internal security agency for allegedly receiving payments from Qatar.
The scandal, dubbed "Qatargate", raised questions about the possibility of Qatari influence in the prime minister's Office.
Netanyahu, who was called to testify in the investigation in March, denounced it as a "political witch hunt".
Israeli media have linked the cabinet's dismissal of Shin Beth chief Ronen Bar and attempts to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to their role in the investigation.
