Qatar, a key mediator in sensitive Israel-Hamas talks, lashes out at Netanyahu over critical remarks

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Qatar said it was appalled Wednesday by leaked remarks made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he criticized the country’s mediation efforts with Hamas, complicating already arduous negotiations meant to halt the hostilities in exchange for a hostage release.

In a meeting with families of hostages held by Hamas, Netanyahu said Qatar’s role in the mediation was “problematic.” Qatar, a key mediator that also has deep ties to the militant group and hosts some of its exiled leaders, said Netanyahu’s remarks were “irresponsible and destructive.”

The public spat came as sensitive talks were underway in an effort to advance a potential agreement that might offer some respite in the devastating 3-month-old war. The fighting has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, displaced some 85% of the territory’s 2.3 million people and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe that has spread hunger, malnutrition and disease across the embattled coastal enclave.

As the diplomacy continued, fierce fighting still raged, especially in southern Gaza, where the United Nations said an Israeli tank strike on a U.N. facility killed at least nine people and wounded dozens.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-01-24-2024-59ffa46eca15049bd7f3c77fde6d4fc7