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Key Points
- Australia has condemned Israel’s airstrikes against Hamas leaders in Qatar’s capital Doha.
- The Israeli strike killed five Hamas members including a senior leader’s son, Israel said.
- World leaders say the attacks seriously undermine ceasefire efforts in the Middle East.
“This is a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty. It imperils that work on the ceasefire and it risks escalation.”
The attacks on a Hamas compound in the Qatari capital Doha killed five members of Hamas, though the Palestinian Islamist group said its senior leaders had survived. Source: Getty / Anadolu
Wong added that Australia was limited in its ability to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas but continued to work alongside others towards peace.
“I view Qatar as a strong Ally and friend of the U.S., and feel very badly about the location of the attack,” he said, though adding that eliminating Hamas was still a “worthy goal”.
“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals.”
But he added: “Nothing will deter us from continuing this (mediation) role for all the different issues around us in the region.”
‘War must not be allowed to spread’
United Nations secretary-general António Guterres also condemned the attack.
“But I don’t forget, and Israel will never forget.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused critics of Israel’s attack on Doha of forgetting Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel in October 2023. Source: SIPA USA / Sergei Guneyev
In Brussels, European Commission spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said: “Today’s airstrike by Israel against Hamas leaders in Doha breaches international law and Qatar’s territorial integrity, and risks a further escalation of violence in the region.”
