Qatar PM slams Israeli strike

QATAR’S prime minister warned Wednesday that an unprecedented Israeli strike in Doha targeting Hamas killed hope for Gaza hostages, calling for Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu to be “brought to justice”.

- 

His comments came a day after deadly strikes targeted Hamas leaders in Qatar - a US ally - a first in the oil-rich Gulf that rattled a region long shielded from conflict.

“T think that what Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told CNN.

Doha is “reassessing everything” around their involvement in future ceasefire talks and discussing next steps with Washington, he added in comments cited in CNN’s live blog after an interview with the broadcaster.

The attack, just three months after Iran launched a retaliatory strike on a US airbase in Qatar, also cast serious doubt on Qatar-mediated Gaza ceasefire talks and undermined security reassurances to the Gulf from key ally Washington.

Earlier Wednesday, Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed that Israel would “act against its enemies anywhere” while Netanyahu urged Qatar to expel Hamas officials or hold them to account, “because if you don't, we will”.

Qatar has hosted Hamas’s political bureau since 2012 with Washington's blessing, and has been a key mediator in Gaza talks alongside Egypt and the US.

Israel’s military said it struck Huthi targets in Yemen on Wednesday, including in the capital Sanaa, killing 35 people according to the rebels.