#qatar-mediation

#qatar-mediation

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told reporters that Qatar is the only country to mediate an end to Israel's war on Gaza, as he departed Israel on his way to the Qatari capital, where Gulf states on Monday pledged to activate the joint defence pact as Arab and Islamic leaders stood in solidarity following Israel's brazen attack on the Hamas leadership inside the country.

The small, resource-rich Gulf state has helped negotiate deals to release United States citizens held in Iran, Afghanistan and Venezuela, and return Ukrainian children to their families after they were taken to Russia. Qatar has also presided over diplomatic breakthroughs between Sudan and Chad, and Eritrea and Djibouti, as well as the 2011 Darfur peace deal. In 2020, Qatar helped negotiate the US's withdrawal from Afghanistan with the extremist Taliban group.

Israel on Tuesday struck Qatar's capital Doha in missile attacks that it said were targeted at senior leaders of Hamas, including negotiators from the Palestinian group who have been engaged in talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza. Qatar condemned the attack as a violation of international law and of its sovereignty, with multiple countries and blocs also lashing out at Israel over the missile strikes.

Israel said it would respond to the deal last week, but has yet to contact mediators, days past its own deadline. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks with reporters before a bipartisan meeting with senate leaders in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Israel missed its own deadline to respond to a temporary ceasefire and captive release deal that Hamas accepted over a week ago, with Israeli authorities appearing "unwilling" to accept the framework despite Hamas saying that the agreement contains significant concessions in Israel's favor.