‘Nothing is justifying this’: Qatar’s PM slams Israel’s atrocities in Gaza

Qatar’s top diplomat says Israel has undermined Doha’s efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza from ‘day one’.

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks prior to a quadrilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex, Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026 [Fabrice Coffrini/Reuters]

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has condemned Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, saying whoever is responsible for the devastation in the besieged Palestinian territory is a “war criminal”.

Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Qatar’s foreign minister, made the remark on Tuesday on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” when asked about the nature of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.

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He described the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, as “a massacre” that “should be condemned”. He called for accountability for the perpetrators of that attack, but said the Israeli response was unjustified.

“Hospitals have been targeted, schools have been targeted. Whatever the justifications and the arguments, nothing is justifying this,” he added.

Sheikh Mohammed also criticised Israel’s near-daily violations of the “ceasefire” that took effect in October 2025, saying more than 1,400 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had been killed since.

“There is more occupied territory – almost 70 percent of the Strip has been occupied and not allowed by the Israeli forces. They are not fulfilling their commitments of this agreement,” he said. “This is just showing that they have different intentions.”

He said Qatar’s efforts to broker a ceasefire had been repeatedly “undermined” by Israel “from day one of the war”.

He also condemned Israel’s strike on the Qatari capital, Doha, in 2025, which targeted senior Hamas officials who had gathered for negotiations. The attack, which caused a deadly explosion, was an unprecedented violation of Qatar’s sovereignty.

“We were attacked by Israel while we were mediating and trying to push for Trump’s proposal at that time in Doha,” he said, referring to US President Donald Trump. “It was unacceptable and condemned. It’s setting a precedent of attacking the mediator that has never happened throughout the wars in history.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu has crossed the line”, he added, “like he has crossed other lines before that”.

Sheikh Mohammed said that serving as a mediator had not been easy, but that he believed quiet diplomacy was the most effective way to make progress.

Qatar has also been playing a mediatory role, along with Pakistan, between the United States and Iran following the launch of the US-Israel war on Iran.

“We are trying to do our best to give the best advice to the US government on how to reach a solution, as well as to the Iranians,” he said.

Sheikh Mohammed said that three matters needed to be resolved to end the war.

These are: an agreement on Tehran’s right to “peaceful nuclear power” and the removal of sanctions; agreement on freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz according to international law; and reform of regional security arrangements, including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Iran.

The last, he said, “wouldn’t happen without dialogue between Iran and GCC and setting the principles of what a good neighbourhood relationship should be”.

That should include, he said, “non-interference in each other’s affairs” and “non-aggression” against each other.

He added that if the region were to “build an area of common interest where we work together in areas of energy and economy, and trade and business”, it would “allow the chance for this region to unleash its potential”.

卡塔尔最高外交官表示，以色列从“第一天起”就破坏了多哈为斡旋加沙停火所做的努力。

2026年6月21日，卡塔尔首相谢赫·穆罕默德·本·阿卜杜勒拉赫曼·本·贾西姆·阿勒萨尼在瑞士卢塞恩布尔根施托克豪华酒店举行的美国、伊朗、巴基斯坦和卡塔尔四方会谈前发表讲话。[Fabrice Coffrini/路透社]

卡塔尔首相谢赫·穆罕默德·本·阿卜杜勒拉赫曼·本·贾西姆·阿勒萨尼谴责以色列对加沙发动的种族灭绝战争，称任何对被围困的巴勒斯坦领土造成破坏的人都是“战争罪犯”。

谢赫·穆罕默德同时也是卡塔尔外交大臣，他在周二做客“皮尔斯·摩根无禁忌”节目时，被问及以色列在加沙地带的行动性质，并发表了上述言论。

卡塔尔谴责以色列在整个地区的侵略行为（共3项声明，此为第1项）

卡塔尔就调解努力发表声明（共3份声明，第2份）：“我们不能让外交失败”

列表 3/3 “内塔尼亚胡将矛头指向卡塔尔，意在转移人们对加沙战争罪行的注意力”

他将哈马斯领导的2023年10月7日对以色列的袭击描述为“一场屠杀”，并表示“应该受到谴责”。他呼吁追究袭击者的责任，但认为以色列的反应是不合理的。

“医院成了攻击目标，学校也成了攻击目标。无论有什么理由和论据，都无法为这种行为辩护，”他补充道。

谢赫·穆罕默德还批评以色列几乎每天都违反2025年10月生效的“停火协议”，称自那以来，加沙地带已有超过1400名巴勒斯坦人丧生。

“被占领的领土更多了——加沙地带近70%的地区已被以色列军队占领，而且以色列军队并未允许他们这样做。他们没有履行这项协议中的承诺，”他说。“这恰恰表明他们另有图谋。”

他表示，卡塔尔斡旋停火的努力“从战争第一天起”就屡次遭到以色列的“破坏”。

他还谴责了以色列2025年对卡塔尔首都多哈的袭击，该袭击的目标是聚集在一起进行谈判的哈马斯高级官员。这次袭击引发了致命爆炸，是对卡塔尔主权前所未有的侵犯。

“当时我们在多哈进行调解，试图推动特朗普的提议，却遭到以色列的攻击，”他指的是美国总统唐纳德·特朗普。“这是不可接受的，应该受到谴责。这开创了一个先例，即攻击调解人，这在历史上的战争中从未发生过。”

以色列总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡“越界了”，他补充道，“就像他以前越过其他界限一样”。

谢赫·穆罕默德表示，担任调解人并不容易，但他相信低调的外交手段是取得进展的最有效途径。

自美国和以色列对伊朗发动战争以来，卡塔尔与巴基斯坦一起，一直在美国和伊朗之间发挥调解作用。

他说：“我们正在尽最大努力向美国政府和伊朗方面提供最佳建议，以寻求解决方案。”

谢赫·穆罕默德表示，要结束这场战争，需要解决三个问题。

这些包括：关于德黑兰享有“和平利用核能”权利并解除制裁的协议；关于根据国际法保障霍尔木兹海峡航行自由的协议；以及改革包括海湾合作委员会（GCC）国家和伊朗在内的区域安全安排。

他表示，最后一点“如果没有伊朗和海湾合作委员会之间的对话，以及对良好睦邻关系原则的确立，就不会发生”。

他表示，这应该包括“互不干涉彼此事务”和“互不侵略”。

他补充说，如果该地区能够“建立一个共同利益区域，在能源、经济、贸易和商业等领域开展合作”，这将“使该地区有机会释放其潜力”。