The Office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded to a recent report claiming that a close ally of the Qatari prime minister helped the United States draft an apology on Netanyahu’s behalf following an Israeli strike in Qatar.
The Politico report, citing three individuals familiar with the matter, states that the White House, with input from Qatari officials, authored the apology delivered by Netanyahu last week during a call to his Qatari counterpart.
The call reportedly took place in the Oval Office and was organized by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who was also present. According to the U.S. outlet, “a powerful Qatari interlocutor and close ally of the country’s prime minister” was physically present in the Oval Office during the call to ensure Netanyahu “stayed on script.”
The call followed an Israeli airstrike on September 9, which targeted Hamas political leadership but resulted in the unintentional death of a Qatari serviceman.
Office of the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu responds
However, Netanyahu’s office, in a sharp rebuttal on Wednesday, October 8, dismissed the report as “fake news,” but confirmed that the Qatari official was present in the room during the apology call regarding the Doha airstrike.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s remarks in his conversation with the Qatari prime minister were determined by the prime minister himself, in consultation only with his professional team,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.
“As for the Qatari official — he was present only during the call at the invitation of the American team, and there was no contact whatsoever with the Israeli team,” the statement added.
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According to media reports, Qatar had made the resumption of its mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas conditional on Israel issuing an apology for the airstrike that struck its territory.
The official White House readout of the call noted that during the conversation, Netanyahu “expressed his deep regret that Israel’s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman.”
“The Israeli premier further expressed regret that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future.”
Apology call
A statement from Qatar confirmed the call and added that Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani reiterated Qatar’s “refusal to tolerate violations of its sovereignty,” while also expressing willingness to continue working toward an end to the war in Gaza under the framework of the U.S. president’s initiative.
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Netanyahu’s apology marks a notable shift from his earlier public stance. He had previously maintained that Israel was within its rights to strike Hamas leaders—even in the Qatari capital—arguing the necessity of such actions during wartime.
Nonetheless, this is not the first time Netanyahu has issued apologies over military operations or intelligence actions gone wrong. In 2010, he apologized to Turkey “for any errors that could have led to loss of life” during the Mavi Marmara raid. He also expressed regret to Jordan over a botched 1997 assassination attempt targeting Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Amman.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts continue in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, where talks are underway to advance Trump’s ceasefire proposal. The plan aims to secure the release of 48 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, calls for Hamas to disarm, and envisions an international force assuming control of Gaza as Israel withdraws its troops.
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