ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Qatar on Tuesday said that "full responsibility" lies with Israel for obstructing US-backed efforts to kickstart the peace process in the Gaza Strip, coming a day after Israeli qualms about withdrawing from the Palestinian territory stifled the burgeoning framework's initial momentum.

The Board of Peace, a body established with the backing of US President Donald Trump of which Qatar is a member, announced on Thursday that Hamas had agreed to disarm and cede control of Gaza to an international peacekeeping force and a technocratic civilian administration, adding that Israel would in turn withdraw from the Strip.

However, the prospect of military withdrawal provoked a political storm in Israel, with a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Board of Peace officials on Monday prompting the latter to issue a statement clarifying that "contrary to inaccurate reports, we note that the full withdrawal of the IDF [Israeli military] beyond the Yellow Line will take place only once decommissioning is complete, as Hamas committed to the mediators."

Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari on Tuesday lamented the Israeli interference, telling reporters that "it is clear to the international community who is obstructing the implementation of the agreement... The full responsibility lies on the Israeli side."

A joint statement issued by Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey - later endorsed by Jordan and Kuwait - the day prior censured an increase in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, adding to the over 1,200 Palestinians killed by Israel since the Trump-backed ceasefire of October 2025 that brought a halt to an Israeli genocide that claimed the lives of over 73,000.

The states called on "the international community to assume its responsibilities and exert the necessary pressure on Israel to fulfill its obligations under international law and the ceasefire agreement, in a manner that ensures the completion of President Trump's peace plan."

"They note that President Trump described reaching consensus on the roadmap for the second phase as a 'historic agreement,' and stress the need to prevent any undermining of the efforts aimed at achieving a sustainable de-escalation, leading to a permanent ceasefire and an end to the humanitarian suffering in the Gaza Strip."

In his Tuesday remarks, Ansari added that the escalation of Israeli strikes comprises "nothing more than an attempt to derail the plan's implementation and block peaceful solutions."

Qatar has been singled out for criticism by Israeli authorities on account of its support for the Palestinian cause despite the fact that Netanyahu's government since 2014 actively allowed and encouraged the supply of Qatari financial transfers to Gaza, drawing sharp domestic criticism in the wake of Hamas' October 2023 attacks.

"It’s not only my government. It's the previous government, the government before me, and the government after me. It wasn't bankrolling Hamas," the Israeli premier told TIME Magazine in a 2024 interview, denying remarks he allegedly made to a Likud Party conference in 2019 asserting that supporting Hamas was in Israel's strategic interest to allow the Islamist group to serve as a counterweight to the secular Palestinian Authority.

Myriad Israeli outlets reported at the time that Netanyahu had made such statements despite his repeated denials.