GAZA, (The Palestinian Information Center) The Hamas Movement declared on Thursday that the crime committed by the Israeli regime in Doha was not only a blatant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty, security, and stability but also a barbaric act of war against the entire Arab and Islamic world and a threat to regional stability.
During a press conference held today, senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum addressed the Israeli regime’s brutal and treacherous aggression targeting the Qatari capital and the delegation of Hamas negotiators.
Barhoum called on Arab and Islamic leaders to take a firm stand against this Israeli arrogance and to use all forms of political, diplomatic, economic, legal, and strategic pressure to hold Netanyahu and his extremist government accountable for their crimes. He also urged urgent efforts to stop the ongoing Israeli assault, genocide, forced displacement, and starvation campaign in Gaza.
Barhoum paid tribute to the following Hamas members who were martyred in the Israeli airstrike on Doha:
- Jihad Labbad (Abu Bilal)
- Hammam Hayya (Abu Yahya)
- Abdullah Abdulwahid (Abu Khalil)
- Mu’min Hassouneh (Abu Omar)
- Ahmed Abdel Malik (Abu Malik)
- Qatari martyr: Corporal Badr Saad Mohammed Al-Humaidi Al-Dosari
He emphasized that the sacred blood spilled on Qatari soil highlights that this battle is not just about Gaza, Hamas, or Palestine, it is a battle for the entire Arab and Muslim world. The attack is a full-scale crime against not just Qatar’s sovereignty but also its values of Arabism, Islam, and defense of the oppressed.
Barhoum warned that this reckless Israeli behavior endangers both regional and international security. He called on global leaders to make a clear choice between Israel’s law-of-the-jungle tactics and international law, which criminalizes such acts and mandates accountability.
He demanded strong Arab, Islamic, and international action to isolate the Israeli regime, impose punishment, and counter its dangerous agenda.
Barhoum revealed that Israel’s failed attempt to assassinate Hamas’s negotiating team in Doha, and its continued threats to target movement leaders abroad, reflect the regime’s desperation after failing to achieve its objectives in Gaza for over 23 months, where it has carried out mass killings, destruction, starvation, and genocide.
He stated that Hamas leaders’ blood is not more precious than the blood of Gaza’s children, women, and people. He affirmed that targeting Hamas leaders will not weaken the movement’s resolve or alter its positions. On the contrary, history shows that such attacks only strengthen Hamas’s determination. He insisted that no force on Earth can deny Palestinians their legitimate right to self-defense and liberation.
Barhoum said Israel’s escalation, particularly threats of forced evacuation under heavy bombardment of nearly a million civilians in Gaza City, is a full-fledged war crime and a brutal act of vengeance against a resilient people.
He praised Gaza’s residents for their legendary steadfastness, rejecting all evacuation calls and insisting on their right to live freely on their land.
The attempted assassination in Doha came just one day after Qatar’s Prime Minister handed the Hamas delegation a new proposal. At the moment of the strike, the delegation was reviewing their response, making it a direct attack not only on Hamas but also on Qatar’s mediating role.
The airstrike hit the residence of the head of Hamas’s negotiating delegation, injuring his wife and the wife and grandchildren of the late Hammam Hayya.
Barhoum emphasized this was not just an assassination attempt but an attack on the negotiation process itself. It was also a deliberate blow to the roles played by Qatar and Egypt as mediators and an open declaration by Netanyahu and his extremist circle that they reject all ceasefire efforts and insist on continuing the war and starvation campaign against Gaza.
Barhoum declared that the United States bears full political and moral responsibility for this crime, having provided Israel with consistent support and cover for its aggression.
He reiterated that no Israeli crimes, including the assassination of leaders, will ever shake Hamas’s firm positions. These include demands for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a real prisoner exchange deal, emergency humanitarian relief, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Barhoum expressed Hamas’s full solidarity with Qatar, its leadership, government, and people. He praised the broad condemnations of the Israeli attack and called for more firm, practical steps to counter Israel’s aggression, which threatens the security and stability of Arab and Islamic nations.
He also expressed deep appreciation for the official and popular support shown toward Qatar, the Palestinian people, Hamas, and the broader resistance movement.
In a solemn and emotional scene, thousands in Qatar gathered after Asr (afternoon) prayer on Thursday to bid farewell to the martyrs killed in the Israeli strike on residential buildings in Doha.
Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, personally attended the funeral prayer at the Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque, and accompanied the martyrs to their burial at the Mesaimeer Cemetery.
Qatar’s Ministry of Interior had announced earlier that the funeral would take place after Asr prayer, confirming that the martyrs were killed in an Israeli attack targeting buildings housing several Hamas political bureau members.
The missile strike, carried out two days earlier, targeted residential buildings in Doha. While top Hamas leaders survived, five members of the Mpvement and one Qatari security officer were killed.
In an interview with CNN, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani called the Israeli strike “an act of state terrorism,” adding, “I have no words to express how angry we are about this attack.”
He said that Netanyahu has violated international law and is starving Gaza, stressing that he must be brought to justice at the International Criminal Court.
Since 2012, Qatar has hosted Hamas’s political bureau in Doha. In recent months, the Gulf country has facilitated multiple rounds of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel, with Egyptian and US mediation. Qatar described the latest Israeli strike on its capital as a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to its sovereignty and regional security.
