ISTANBUL 

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Thursday denounced an Israeli strike on the Qatari capital, Doha, as a “full-fledged crime,” saying it was not only an assassination attempt against its delegation but an attack on the entire negotiation process.

“This crime was not just a bid to kill the delegation, but a strike to eliminate the entire path of negotiations and deliberately target the role of our brothers mediating in Qatar and Egypt,” senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum told a press conference aired on the group’s Al-Aqsa TV channel.

Barhoum said the attack was “blatant proof from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his criminal gang that they reject reaching any agreement and insist on obstructing all regional and international efforts aimed at ending the genocide and starvation of our people in Gaza.”

He stressed that Netanyahu and his far-right government bear the “full responsibility for undermining and blocking all previous negotiation attempts.”

The press conference came after Israeli warplanes struck a residential building in Doha on Tuesday housing Hamas officials. While the negotiating delegation survived, the attack killed the son of senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, his office director, three bodyguards, and a Qatari security officer.

Barhoum said the strike also wounded al-Hayya’s wife as well as the wife and children of his slain son Humam.

Hamas said the attack was a clear attempt to sabotage ongoing mediation efforts by Qatar and Egypt, which have been trying to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange deal.

On Tuesday, Qatar strongly condemned the Israeli attack as a “blatant violation of international law” and a threat to its sovereignty and security.

The Gulf state has been a key mediator in Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas to end Tel Aviv’s deadly assault that has killed more than 64,700 people since October 2023.