ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that last week's Israeli airstrikes against Hamas officials in Doha delivered a “central message” to the Palestinian militant group, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio encouraged Qatar to play a “constructive role” in reaching a peaceful outcome in Gaza.

On September 9, the Israeli military conducted a series of strikes on a building in the Qatari capital housing key Hamas negotiators, resulting in six deaths, including a member of the Qatari security forces. The unprecedented attack ushered in a wave of regional and international condemnations.

In a joint press conference with Rubio in Jerusalem on Monday, Netanyahu claimed that the operation was a success “because it had one central message, [which] we considered before we launched [the attack], and this is: you can run, you can hide, but we will get you,” addressing Hamas.

When asked whether such attacks in ostensibly non-combatant countries will continue in future, Netanyahu asserted that “the principle that terrorists should not have immunity wherever they are... is a principle we established; it’s a principle we follow— it hasn't changed.”

The Israeli premier reiterated that the Qatari attack “was conducted by us, and we assume full responsibility for it… because we believe terrorists should not be given a haven.” The US has denied any role in participating in or facilitating the strikes, asserting that they were a unilateral Israeli action and offering lukewarm criticism of the move.

"Qatar has been a very great ally. Israel and everyone else, we have to be careful," US President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday.

For his part, Rubio stated that the US is focused on the upcoming steps in terms of “what roles can Qatar play in reaching an outcome,” noting that the desired outcome involves not only the release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas, but also implementing “a better future” for people in the Palestinian territory.

Qatar has played a pivotal role in mediating dialogue between Israel and Hamas in the pursuit of a ceasefire in Gaza.

“We are going to continue to encourage Qatar to play a constructive role in that regard,” added Rubio.

The secretary of state added that peace in Gaza and the broader region will not be possible “until the hostages are all released and Hamas no longer exists.”

The pair's comments come on the same day as leaders from Arab and Muslim countries gathered in Doha to discuss the attack.

Hamas labeled the strike “a horrific crime, a blatant act of aggression, and a flagrant violation of all international norms and laws” and urged the UN and the world’s countries to “condemn this criminal aggression against the State of Qatar and to take urgent action” against the Israeli government to stop the “genocide and ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinian people.

The Palestinian group sent “an urgent memorandum to the foreign ministers of Arab and Islamic countries” on Sunday regarding the strike on its delegation in Doha, stating that the Israeli government “persistently sabotaged every agreement through assassinations, adding new conditions, and committing massacres, whereas it used negotiations only as a cover to buy time for further crimes.”

The organization further asserted that its leaders “must not be treated as military targets to justify the occupation’s crimes.”

In the wake of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack, Israel launched a brutal military campaign against the Gaza Strip that has claimed the lives of nearly 65,000 Palestinians in under two years. Additionally, Israel has also carried out multiple airstrikes in Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, and most recently Qatar, under the pretext of targeting the so-called “Axis of Resistance.”

Reporting by Hevi Karam