Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that removing the Hamas leadership based in Qatar would clear the biggest obstacle to the release of hostages and a possible end to the ongoing war in Gaza.

Speaking to reporters, Netanyahu alleged that Hamas leaders in Doha have been actively blocking progress on ceasefire agreements and obstructing negotiations designed to bring relief to both sides. According to him, their presence in Qatar has given Hamas the ability to resist diplomatic pressure while continuing to direct operations in Gaza from abroad.

The remarks come just days after Israel carried out a deadly airstrike on September 9 in Doha, the capital of Qatar, targeting what it claimed were senior Hamas officials. The strike killed six people. However, Hamas stated that none of its senior leadership figures were among those killed. According to the group, the dead included the son and aide of senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, further fueling anger among Palestinians.

Netanyahu defended the action by framing it as part of Israel’s broader strategy to dismantle Hamas’s command structure and reduce its capacity to operate internationally. “As long as Hamas leaders are sheltered abroad and directing resistance from safe havens, achieving peace and securing the release of our citizens will remain impossible,” he asserted.

The comments are likely to intensify diplomatic tensions, as Qatar has long played a mediating role between Hamas, Israel, and other international stakeholders. Doha has hosted Hamas’s political bureau for years, facilitating negotiations over ceasefires, prisoner exchanges, and humanitarian access to Gaza.

Critics argue that the Israeli strike in Qatar risks undermining these delicate mediation efforts. Some regional analysts caution that eliminating Hamas figures abroad could provoke retaliation and further complicate the already fragile humanitarian situation in Gaza.

For its part, Hamas accused Israel of committing “political assassination on foreign soil” and warned that the attack could derail future hostage talks.

The question of hostages—both Israeli captives held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails—remains one of the most sensitive and politically charged issues in the conflict. Netanyahu has faced mounting domestic pressure to secure the return of Israeli hostages, with families of captives staging protests and demanding faster government action.

By linking the hostage crisis to the elimination of Hamas leaders in Qatar, Netanyahu is signaling a hardline approach that suggests Israel will pursue military action alongside negotiations. Whether this strategy will accelerate hostage release or deepen the conflict remains to be seen.