In a call from the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday expressed his “deep regret” to Qatar over the Doha air strike on Hamas leadership earlier this month that set back Middle East peace negotiations.
The apology occurred during a trilateral phone call between President Trump, Mr. Netanyahu and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al Thani during the Israeli leader’s visit to the White House.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his deep regret that Israel’s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman,” the White House said in a readout of the conversation.
“He further expressed regret that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatar sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future,” the White House continued.
The White House said Mr. Al Thani welcomed the apology and emphasized “Qatar’s readiness to continue contributing meaningfully to the region’s security and stability.”
The leaders of Israel and Qatar have never publicly met or formally spoken until Monday.
Mr. Netanyahu’s apology is critical to efforts to finalize a deal to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of all the hostages. Qatar, which is a critical mediator for the Trump administration, has been refusing to mediate negotiations with Hamas since the Israeli strike.
The strike on Doha targeted but failed to kill several key Hamas leaders.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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