LONDON: The leaders of Britain and France condemned Tuesday Israel’s air strikes on Doha targeting Hamas political leaders, drawing a veiled rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the attack violated Qatar’s sovereignty and risked “further escalation” in the volatile region, while Macron called them “unacceptable” whatever the reasoning behind them might be.
“I condemn Israel’s strikes on Doha… The priority must be an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and a huge surge in aid into Gaza,” Starmer posted on X. “This is the only solution towards long-lasting peace.”
That followed France’s president criticising the attack and writing on the same platform that “the war must not be allowed to spread in the region”.
Israel targets Hamas leadership in military strikes on Qatar, officials say
Israel’s strikes on Doha were the first of its kind in the Qatari capital.
Qatar’s interior ministry said a member of its internal security forces had been killed.
Meanwhile a Hamas official told Qatar’s Al Jazeera that its top negotiator’s son was among several people killed but that senior leaders had survived.
Responding to the condemnation from European capitals, Netanyahu accused the critics of forgetting Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel in October 2023.
“Much of the world, including much of the democratic world, or governments at least, have shamefully, shamefully forgotten October 7th,” he said, at a US embassy function in Jerusalem.
“But I don’t forget, and Israel will never forget,” Netanyahu added.
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