The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a senior leader of Hamas, threatens to unravel the progress mediators have made toward reaching a ceasefire deal between the terror group and Israel, the presumed perpetrator of the killing.
The U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari governments have spent several months meeting separately with the Israeli and Hamas delegations trying to negotiate a deal that would stop the war, even temporarily, and allow for the release of the more than 100 Israeli hostages Hamas has held since Oct. 7 and a surge of desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who has been directly involved in the negotiations, questioned Israel’s desire to actually get a deal done.
“Political assassinations & continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side? Peace needs serious partners & a global stance against the disregard for human life,” he said on X.
