DaysofPal – Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said Friday that the Israeli aggression against Qatar and the movement’s negotiating delegation in Doha constitutes a “direct attack” on US President Donald Trump’s agenda and ongoing mediation efforts.
Speaking to media outlets, Hamdan stressed that the initiatives led by Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Washington and New York are “important,” and that Hamas is awaiting their outcome.
The Qatari premier held talks with senior US officials ahead of his scheduled meeting with President Trump in New York, with a White House official confirming that the discussions centered on Gaza.
Hamdan underscored that the Qatari push, supported by Egypt, seeks to pressure Israel into ending its assault on Gaza, opening crossings for humanitarian aid, launching reconstruction, and reaching a prisoner exchange deal. “Failure to respond to these efforts means more cover for Israel to continue its crimes, whether in Gaza or outside the Strip,” he warned.
The Hamas official also linked Israel’s recent escalation in Doha to the mediation track. He said a new proposal was submitted through Qatari mediators, discussed by the Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya, and met with an assassination attempt that targeted the delegation in the Qatari capital last Tuesday.
The attack killed several people, including al-Hayya’s son, his office director, and a member of Qatar’s internal security force. Hamas confirmed that its leadership survived the attack.
Hamdan described the assassination attempt as a “heinous and cowardly crime” and a direct strike at the American plan, questioning whether Israel had ever accepted the framework put forward by Washington.
“The Israeli occupation has put the American plan behind everyone,” he said, noting that Israel has obstructed negotiations since rejecting a mediators’ proposal on August 18.
He emphasized that it is now up to the United States to exert real pressure on Israel. “If the US administration does not take a decisive stance, this will send a negative message to the region: that Israel can violate international law unchecked, pushing the region toward chaos,” Hamdan warned.
At the same time, Hamdan praised the Qatari and Egyptian mediation efforts, saying they had reached near-breakthroughs on several occasions before being derailed by Israeli actions, including the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and the recent attack in Doha.
Despite these setbacks, Hamdan affirmed that Hamas and mediators remain committed to seeking an end to the Israeli aggression, which he said threatens not only Gaza but also regional and international stability.
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