Qatar suspends mediation efforts in Gaza war after Israeli strike on soil

Qatar has suspended its mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas toward a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal in response to an Israeli attack on its soil targeting Hamas leaders, the Gulf state announced Tuesday, Report informs via The Jerusalem Post.

On Monday, an official briefed on hostage deal talks told Reuters that Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani pressed Hamas political leaders to "respond positively" to the latest US-proposed deal during talks in Doha.

"The Qatari prime minister pressed Hamas to respond positively to the latest American proposal, conveyed through mediators, and aimed at securing a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza," the official said.

A diplomatic source told The Jerusalem Post earlier on Tuesday that "Hamas received the new proposal from the Qataris, which we [Israel] obtained from Witkoff last week in Paris. 

"The prime minister met with the Hamas leadership yesterday, and they decided to meet again today to discuss the proposal, arriving from Türkiye," the source said.

"As it happened before, the Israelis undermined hopes for peace, further prolonging the war and complicating efforts to bring back the hostages," Qatar responded.

The IDF and the Shin Bet confirmed Israel had attempted to assassinate members of the Hamas leadership in the Qatari capital of Doha. Khalil al-Hayya, the leader of Hamas, was one of the targets of the operations, an Israeli official confirmed to The Post. His death has not yet been confirmed.