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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued an official apology to Qatar for killing one of its citizens during an air strike on Doha which targeted a Hamas delegation.
“As a first step, Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his deep regret that Israel’s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman,” a statement from the White House said.
“He further expressed regret that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future.”
At least five low-ranking Hamas members were also killed in the 9 September strike, which targeted the senior Hamas leadership involved in negotiating a US-backed ceasefire.
It was the first attack by Israel on Qatar, a key mediator in ceasefire efforts.
The strike was met with global outrage with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres calling it a “flagrant violation” of Qatar’s sovereignty.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he and Netanyahu have discussed “how to end the war in Gaza” with Trump hailing a “historic day for peace.”
It was not immediately clear if Hamas had accepted Trump’s 20-point plan, but Trump said he had heard that “Hamas wants to get this done too.”
A Hamas official said the group was briefed on the plan but has yet to receive an official offer from Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
Gaza governing board
The plan calls for a temporary governing board that would be headed by Trump and include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The plan does not require people to leave Gaza and calls for the war to end immediately if both sides accept it.
It also calls for all remaining hostages to be released within 72 hours of Israel accepting the plan.
Trump says Israel would have the “full backing” of the United States to take steps to defeat Hamas if it doesn’t accept proposed peace deal.
“I think we are beyond very close,” Trump said at the start of a news conference with Netanyahu where he detailed the deal.
As he welcomed Netanyahu to the White House, Trump responded affirmatively when asked by reporters whether he was confident a deal would be soon reached to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
“I am. I’m very confident,” Trump said.
Earlier on Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt urged both sides to finalise an agreement to bring an end to the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza.
“Ultimately the president knows when you get to a good deal, both sides are going to leave a little bit unhappy,” Leavitt told reporters. “But we need this conflict to end.”
Meanwhile, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, said Palestinian officials stood ready to work with Trump and Arab countries in bringing an end to the war.
“Let us not delay a single minute more in doing what is necessary for this just peace to replace the unbearable reality of today,” Mansour said during a Security Council meeting on the Middle East.
The war began when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
Hamas took 251 people as hostages, and is currently holding 48, of whom 20 are believed to still be alive. A subsequent Israeli offensive has to date killed at least 66,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry whose figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
Additional sources • AP
