Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has condemned Israel’s strikes on Hamas leadership in Qatar, saying it “violated their sovereignty, undermines a ceasefire, and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza”.
The attack, which Israel says was aimed at a base for Hamas, killed five people. Hamas has said its leadership survived the strikes.
The White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the attack “does not advance Israel or America’s goals”, and the United States felt badly about the location of the attack.
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Qatar is a key US security partner and host to al-Udeid Air Base, the largest US military facility in the Middle East.
It has acted as a mediator alongside Egypt in talks on a ceasefire in the almost two-year-old war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Appearing on Sunrise, Wong took aim at Isarel’s action.
“We don’t think this was the right thing to do,” Wong told Monique Wright on Wednesday.
“It was a strike that violates Qatar’s sovereignty, undermines a ceasefire, and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. It risks escalation.
“Let’s remember what Qatar has been doing. Qatar has been working with the United States to try to deliver a ceasefire, and the return of hostages. They have been tireless in those negotiations.
“That is the context in which this strike has occurred.”
Wong stopped short of saying she was outraged by the airstrikes. But said it was the “wrong thing to do” and restated it was a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty.
Wong continued: “It flies in the face of what we all want, which is a ceasefire and the release of the hostages ... I know President Trump has made similar comments today.”
The Trump administration has condemned the attacks.
Trump was notified by the Pentagon that Israel was attacking Hamas in Qatar, with Trump speaking to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu soon after it.
“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar - a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard in bravely taking risks with us to broker peace - does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” Leavitt said.
She continued: “However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
Qatar condemned the action as “cowardly” and called it a flagrant violation of international law.
The assault is likely to deal a serious, if not fatal, blow to the ceasefire efforts, especially since negotiations have often taken place in Qatar.
Hamas said five of its members had been killed in the attack in Doha, including the son of Hamas’ exiled Gaza Strip chief and top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya.
It said Israel had failed in what Hamas called an attempt to assassinate the group’s ceasefire negotiation team.
- With AAP
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