Qatar PM asks, ‘How can mediation succeed when one side assassinates negotiator?’

The prime minister of Qatar, which has acted as a mediator in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, suggested on Wednesday that the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh could jeopardise efforts to secure a truce in Gaza, Reuters has reported.

“Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” wrote Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on X. “Peace needs serious partners and a global stance against the disregard for human life.”

Qatar, Egypt and the United States have repeatedly tried to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian resistance movement in Gaza, Hamas, where Israeli forces have killed more than 39,400 Palestinians since the resistance group led a cross-border incursion last October. Around 1,200 people were killed, many of them by the Israel Defence Forces in so-called “friendly fire” incidents.

A final deal to halt more than nine months of war has been complicated by changes sought by Israel, sources have told Reuters.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who has lived in Qatar for several years, was assassinated in the early hours of this morning in Iran, drawing fears of wider escalation in a region shaken by Israel’s war in Gaza and a worsening conflict in Lebanon. Qatar strongly condemned the killing in Tehran, describing it as a dangerous escalation.

OPINION: Haniyeh was the pragmatic leader of Hamas