Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad, who was a target for assassination in Qatar as part of Operation Summit of Fire in Doha, was interviewed Wednesday on the Qatari channel Al Jazeera — his first public appearance since the air strike, with his fate was unknown until now.
“We are not the only target; the entire nation is,” he said, and called on Arab states: “Israel has no red lines. Netanyahu talks about changing the face of the Middle East, and that requires an Arab response.”
Hamad also addressed negotiations over a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which have stalled since the strike. “Our experience with the American mediator was bitter, and there was no credibility on the American side because they withdrew from their proposals,” he said.
He described the moments of the strike on building in Doha. “We were in a meeting with the negotiating delegation and with several advisors. Less than an hour after the discussion began about the American proposal we had received, we heard enormous explosions," he said. "As residents of Gaza, we recognize those sounds. We tried to flee as quickly as possible. We survived despite the horrifying intensity of the barrage — about 12 missiles fell in less than a minute. By God’s grace we survived.”
Hamad claimed the American negotiators are not trustworthy. “Every time we deal with the Americans, in one way or another, it becomes clear that they do not honor their word and change the terms of their offers in communication with the Israeli occupation," he said. "The Americans are partners in the ongoing genocide. They presented the proposal, and when Hamas discussed it, Trump gave them permission to bomb the Hamas delegation in Qatar. Trump speaks on behalf of the Israelis and supports the killing of Palestinians.”
The moment of the Israeli air strike in Doha
Hamad, who was one of the mediators in the Gilad Shalit hostage deal, is the second senior Hamas official reportedly present at the top-level meeting who has since appeared publicly. He was preceded by Tahir al-Nunu, who also gave an interview to Qatar’s Al Jazeera network; al-Nunu was filmed alone and did not appear to be injured.
Also reportedly present at the Doha meeting were Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and head of the negotiating team Khalil al-Hayya; Zahir Jabarin, who serves as a Hamas leader in the West Bank; Nizar Awadallah, one of Hamas’s senior figures in Gaza; Khaled Meshal, considered a Hamas leader abroad; Mousa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas founder and former head of the political bureau; Hossam Badran, a senior member released in the Shalit deal; and Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official abroad.
Meanwhile, fighting in the Gaza Strip continues, and sources at Gaza hospitals claim that, since Wednesday morning, some 75 Palestinians have been killed by IDF fire, including 53 in Gaza City alone. Earlier, large numbers of displaced persons were documented leaving Gaza City in the shadow of the IDF ground operation in the area. As the fighting continues, IDF Arabic-language spokesman Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee announced earlier that an additional “escape” route from the city to the south, via Salah al-Din Street, would open from until Friday at 12:00.
At the same time, more than 150 protesters, including families of hostages, gathered for a second time outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home on Azza Street in Jerusalem, after also protesting there Tuesday — calling on the government to stop the war and secure the release of the 48 hostages still held by Hamas.