{"id":426689,"date":"2025-09-15T16:30:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T16:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/426689\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T16:30:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T16:30:24","slug":"alongside-rubio-netanyahu-claims-qatar-strike-succeeded-because-it-sent-a-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/426689\/","title":{"rendered":"Alongside Rubio, Netanyahu claims Qatar strike succeeded because it sent a ‘message’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to acknowledge that Israel did not kill Hamas leaders in its strike in Qatar last week, while putting a positive spin on the outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t fail, because it had one central message and we considered it before we launched it, and that is, you can hide, you can run, but we\u2019ll get you,\u201d he said at a Jerusalem press conference.<\/p>\n

Israel targeted Hamas leaders last Tuesday in strikes in the Qatari capital that were said to kill five members of the terror group and a Qatari security officer. Israel\u2019s security establishment was said to believe that the attack failed to take out Hamas\u2019s top brass.<\/p>\n

The strike elicited fury from Arab governments, including those with full diplomatic ties with Israel. On Monday, the leaders of Arab and Islamic states berated Israel in Doha at an emergency gathering in the wake of the attack.<\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump has also expressed his displeasure, while tempering his public statements. He told reporters on Sunday that Israel must be \u201cvery, very careful\u201d about how it handles Qatar, which he called a \u201cgreat ally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump sounded similar notes shortly after the attack, when he posted on social media that the strike \u201cdoes not advance Israel or America\u2019s goals,\u201d though he said that eliminating Hamas is a \u201cworthy goal.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/p>\n

Qatar\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani (C) welcomes King Abdullah II of Jordan upon his arrival to attend an Arab Islamic summit in Doha on September 15, 2025. (Qatar News Agency \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

In a seeming gesture meant to reduce blowback to Washington in the wake of the strike, Netanyahu stressed at Monday\u2019s press conference that Israel\u2019s decision to act against Hamas in Qatar was a \u201cwholly independent decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe assume full responsibility,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cWe did it on our own. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubio also sought to move past any public disagreement with Israel over the strike, saying, \u201cWe are focused on what happens next.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, Netanyahu expressed sentiment that could be interpreted as an implicit rebuke of US criticism of the attack, blasting the \u201cimmense cynicism and hypocrisy\u201d of those who assailed Israel over the strike.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu pointed out UN Resolution 1373, ratified after the 9\/11attacks, which says that no country can harbor or give safe haven to terrorists.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Prime Minister\u2019s Office in Jerusalem, on September 15, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

The prime minister stressed that, after the 2001 attacks, the US \u201cacted very boldly against the terrorist havens that were given to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. The terrorist haven that was given to the chief terrorist [Osama] Bin Laden in Pakistan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubio will visit Qatar on Tuesday, The Washington Post<\/a> reported, citing two American sources.<\/p>\n

Rubio met with Netanyahu one-on-one for about an hour and a half before an expanded meeting with aides.<\/p>\n

He also met Monday with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar and President Isaac Herzog.<\/p>\n

A \u2018concise\u2019 Gaza operation<\/p>\n

Rubio\u2019s visit came as Israel gears up for its announced full-fledged invasion of Gaza City.\u00a0On Monday, Israeli forces continued to bring down high-rise buildings in the northern Gaza metropolis.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/p>\n

Flames erupt from a building following an Israeli military strike in Gaza City, September 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Yousef Al Zanoun)<\/p>\n

In recent days, the IDF has instructed Palestinians in all areas of Gaza City to leave for the Israeli-designated \u201chumanitarian zone\u201d in the Strip\u2019s south, ahead of a major offensive against Hamas.\u00a0Out of the one million Palestinians who were in Gaza City, more than 320,000 have evacuated, according to IDF estimates.<\/p>\n

Before his trip, Rubio said he would speak to Netanyahu about Israeli military plans to seize Gaza City, the largest urban center in the devastated territory, as well as the government\u2019s talk of annexing parts of the West Bank in hopes of precluding a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n

Rubio earlier said Trump wants the Gaza war to be \u201cfinished with,\u201d which would mean the release of hostages and ensuring Hamas is \u201cno longer a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/p>\n

Demonstrators protest near the Prime Minister\u2019s residence in Jerusalem, calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, September 13, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

But alongside Netanyahu, he showed firm support for Israel, saying that the \u201cideal outcome\u201d is for Hamas to simply surrender, but \u201cit may require ultimately a concise military operation to eliminate them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as we may wish that there be a sort of a peaceful diplomatic way to end it,\u201d said Rubio, \u201cand we\u2019ll continue to explore and be dedicated to it, we also have to be prepared for the possibility that that\u2019s not going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery single hostage, both living and deceased,\u201d must be returned home immediately, said Rubio, and Hamas \u201ccan no longer continue to exist as an armed element that threatens the peace and security, not just of Israel, but of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gazans deserve a better future, he continued, but that can\u2019t begin \u201cuntil Hamas is eliminated and until all of the hostages, both living and deceased, are home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump remains \u201ccommitted firmly\u201d to those goals, he said.<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\tYou appreciate our journalism\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re really pleased that you\u2019ve read X Times of Israel articles<\/strong> in the past month. \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.<\/p>\n

Your support is essential to continue our work.<\/strong> We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.<\/p>\n

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community<\/strong>. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE<\/strong>, as well as accessing\u00a0exclusive content\u00a0available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n

Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Speaking alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to acknowledge that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[12,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-426689","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115209268534611175","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}