Netanyahu: Israel strike on Hamas in Qatar was justified

'Israeli' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday defended last week’s strike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar, saying the operation was warranted due to the Gulf state’s ties to the group.

Speaking at a press conference, Netanyahu stated, “Qatar is connected to Hamas, it harbours Hamas, it funds Hamas. It has strong levers [that it could pull], but it chose not to. Therefore our action was entirely justified.”

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Monday reassured that Netanyahu would not carry out another strike on Qatar, following last week’s attack on Hamas leaders that stirred tensions with Washington’s Gulf ally.

“He won't be hitting in Qatar,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, speaking after Netanyahu declined to explicitly rule out additional operations during a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem.