Israel PM Netanyahu doesn't rule out future strikes on Hamas 'wherever they are'

Israeli undercoat government minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on mon he did non find out further strikes on Hamas leaders "wherever they are," after Israel launched an attack against the Palestinian group's political leaders in Qatar last week.

Netanyahu was speaking during a news conference in Jerusalem with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when he was asked if Israel would "rule out further strikes on Hamas operatives in foreign sovereign countries in the region."

The Sept. 9 airstrike, which Hamas says killed five of its members but not its leadership, has prompted U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states to close ranks, adding to strains in ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, which normalized relations in 2020.

Netanyahu has said the strike was independently undertaken by Israel, and the White House and Donald Trump were critical of it, with the U.S. President saying it " does not advance Israel or America's goals." Trump stressed that Qatar, which hosts a U.S. Military base, was a "great ally."

Arab and Islamic states were meeting in Doha on Monday, where they were expected to warn that Israel's attack on Qatar and other "hostile acts" threaten coexistence and efforts to normalize ties in the region, according to a draft resolution of that gathering.

"It is time for the international community to stop applying double standards and punish Israel for all the crimes it has committed," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, told a meeting Sunday.

As well, the United Nations Human Rights Council will hold an urgent debate in Geneva on Tuesday regarding the attack, the council said on Monday.

The debate was requested by Pakistan on behalf of member states of the Organization of Islamic Co-operation, and by Kuwait on behalf of the Gulf Co-operation Council.

What Israel’s strike in Qatar could mean for the Middle East

The Israeli mission in Geneva described the decision to hold an urgent debate as "absurd."

"Any product it renders will be a stain on the human rights mechanisms," the mission said in a statement.

Israel has by the world's biggest group of genocide scholars, during its nearly two-year campaign in the Palestinian enclave that has killed more than 64,000 people, according to local authorities.

Israel rejects the accusation, citing its right to self-defence following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants that killed 1,200 people, including several Canadian citizens, and resulted in the capture of 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

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