Netanyahu to Rubio: Qatar strike didn’t fail – it sent a message

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem, defending Qatar strike, while Rubio emphasizes need to return hostages, eliminate Hamas.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a day after Rubio landed in Israel.

The two met in Jerusalem before holding a joint press conference on the war in Gaza, Israel’s airstrike against Hamas leaders in Qatar last week, and attempts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.

Rebuffing international criticism last week, including from President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu defended Israel’s ballistic missile strike last Tuesday on a villa in Doha, Qatar, where Hamas’ politburo had gathered.

While initial reports suggest the strike, carried out by Israeli fighter jets using advanced air-launched ballistic missiles, failed to kill any of Hamas’ senior leaders, Netanyahu said the attack was not a failure. Rather, he said, it sent a “clear message” that Israel would not hesitate to carry out additional targeted killings abroad.

“The strike sent a clear message to Hamas leaders: ‘You can try to run, but we will find you’.”

Netanyahu said the strike was decided upon without consultation with the US.

“The decision to strike the terrorist leadership there was entirely independent,” the prime minister said. “It was made by me, managed by us, and we take full responsibility, because terrorists cannot be given safe haven. We did this ourselves.”

Citing the United Nations to justify the strike, Netanyahu said sovereign nations were not permitted to give sanctuary to terror groups.

“There is hypocrisy and cynicism in condemning Israel. The UN approved that states should not host terrorists, and of course the U.S. acted courageously against Al Qaeda sanctuaries in Afghanistan and against Bin Laden in Pakistan.”

Rubio downplayed tensions between Washington and Jerusalem over the strike, which the Trump administration criticized as an attack on an American ally.

Instead, Rubio reiterated the White House’s demand that all remaining 48 hostages be returned to Israel, adding that Hamas must be eliminated as an armed terrorist group for regional peace to be established.

“Every hostage must immediately be home,” Rubio said. “The people of Gaza deserve a better future, but that better future cannot begin until Hamas is eliminated. You can count on our unwavering support and commitment to see this come to fruition.”