Jerusalem, September 17 (HS): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday defended last week’s controversial strike on Hamas officials in Qatar, calling it a “justified” action given what he described as Doha’s longstanding financial and political support for the Palestinian militant group.

“Qatar is connected to Hamas, it harbours Hamas, it funds Hamas. It has strong levers it could use, but it chose not to. Therefore, our action was entirely justified,” Netanyahu declared at a press briefing.

The airstrike, which targeted a Hamas meeting in Doha, marked the first Israeli operation on the soil of a fellow US ally. Six people were killed in the attack, though none of Hamas’s senior leadership were among the casualties, according to both Israeli and Palestinian sources.

Qatar, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, has historically hosted Hamas leaders and acted as a key mediator between Israel and the group during ceasefire and hostage negotiations in the Gaza conflict. Between 2018 and 2023, Doha also channelled millions of dollars in aid to Gaza with approval from Netanyahu’s cabinet—a policy now under renewed scrutiny.

The incident comes against the backdrop of an ongoing political scandal in Israel, dubbed “Qatargate,” in which two of Netanyahu’s aides were investigated for allegedly receiving payments from Qatar, an affair that further fueled questions about Doha’s influence inside the Prime Minister’s Office. Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing, dismissing the inquiry as a “political witch hunt.”

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar