Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani attends the funeral of people killed in an Israeli strike on figures of the Palestinain Hamas movement two days earlier, at Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque in Doha. Photo: AFP
DOHA:
Hamas accused the United States on Thursday of complicity in Israel’s deadly attack on its negotiators in Qatar, lambasting Israel for seeking to kill off Gaza truce talks as Doha buried the dead.
Tuesday’s unprecedented Israeli strikes on a Gulf state sent shockwaves through a region long shielded from conflicts and halted already floundering Gaza talks.
“This crime was… an assassination of the entire negotiation process and a deliberate targeting of the role of our mediating brothers in Qatar and Egypt,” Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said in a televised statement.
In Doha, tight security surrounded the mosque where prayers were held as the Gulf state’s ruler joined mourners.
One coffin bearing a Qatari flag and five others bearing Palestinian flags were brought into the mosque, live footage from Qatar television showed.
Facing the coffins, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, prayed alongside dozens of mourners, some wearing traditional white robes, others wearing military uniform.