Qatar PM says those responsible for Gaza war should face accountability

• Qatar’s prime minister said whoever is responsible for the situation in Gaza is a “war criminal.”
• Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said ‘Israel’s’ response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack was unjustified.
• He said more than 1,400 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza since an October 2025 ceasefire took effect.
• Qatar’s leader said Doha would continue efforts to mediate between the parties.

Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister said Tuesday that whoever is responsible for the situation in Gaza is a “war criminal,” while condemning the scale of ‘Israel’s’ military response in the Palestinian territory.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani made the comments in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan. He said the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on ‘Israel’ was “a massacre” that should be condemned and that those responsible should be held accountable.

But he said the subsequent ‘Israeli’ response could not be justified.

“Hospitals have been targeted, schools have been targeted. Whatever the justifications and the arguments, nothing is justifying this,” he said. 

Sheikh Mohammed also said more than 1,400 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza since a ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, adding that ‘Israel’ had not fulfilled its commitments under the agreement.

He said Qatar’s efforts to mediate an end to the conflict had repeatedly been undermined, while stressing that Doha would continue to pursue diplomacy.

“Serving as a mediator is not easy,” he said, adding that Qatar believed diplomacy conducted behind closed doors was the most effective way to make progress. 

The Qatari leader also criticized ‘Israel’s’ 2025 attack on Doha, which targeted senior Hamas officials who were meeting in the Qatari capital during ceasefire negotiations.

“We were attacked by Israel while we were mediating,” Sheikh Mohammed said, calling the strike unacceptable and saying it set a precedent of attacking a mediator. 

Iran war

Turning to the conflict involving the United States, ‘Israel’ and Iran, Sheikh Mohammed said three issues needed to be resolved: Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear power and the lifting of sanctions, freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz under international law, and a new regional security framework involving Iran and Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

He said such a framework would require dialogue, non-interference and non-aggression between Iran and its Gulf neighbors, alongside greater cooperation in energy, trade and the economy. 

Read more: Araghchi says seven-point plan conveyed to US via Qatar