Hamas on Thursday directly accused the United States of complicity in Israel’s unprecedented strike on its negotiators in Qatar, framing the attack as an attempt to derail fragile Gaza truce talks and undermine regional mediation efforts. The remarks underscore how the fallout from Tuesday’s strike is reverberating beyond Gaza, drawing Washington deeper into political controversy in the Gulf.
“This crime was an assassination of the entire negotiation process and a deliberate targeting of the role of our mediating brothers in Qatar and Egypt,” Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said in a televised statement. By accusing the U.S. of enabling the strike, Hamas is seeking to shift the diplomatic burden onto Washington, which has long positioned Qatar as a key go-between in talks with Hamas.
The strike, carried out on Qatari soil, has rattled a region historically insulated from direct conflict. For Israel, the move signals a willingness to expand its military reach even into allied Gulf states; for Doha, it represents a direct challenge to its role as a neutral mediator trusted by both Hamas and Western capitals.
In a symbolic gesture underscoring the gravity of the incident, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani joined prayers for the dead in Doha. Live coverage showed one coffin draped in a Qatari flag alongside five others covered in Palestinian flags, as both civilians in traditional dress and members of the armed forces stood in mourning.
The strike not only threatens to collapse Gaza ceasefire talks but also risks redrawing the geopolitical balance in the Gulf, where Qatar and Egypt have positioned themselves as central mediators. With accusations now leveled at the U.S., Washington faces mounting pressure to clarify its role and reaffirm its commitment to de-escalation in a region edging closer to wider instability.
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