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Israel Threatens Hamas ‘Wherever They Are’ as Qatar Hosts Summit
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes a question from the media next to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at their joint press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office, during Rubio’s visit, in Jerusalem, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he did not rule out further strikes on Hamas leaders “wherever they are,” as the heads of Arab and Islamic states held a summit to back Qatar after Israel‘s attack last week in the Gulf state.
The Sept. 9 strike targeting leaders of the Palestinian terrorist group in Doha was a significant escalation of Israeli military action in a region shaken by conflict since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that ignited the Gaza war.
While the assembled Arab and Muslim leaders were expressing solidarity with Qatar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Netanyahu and gave strong backing for Israel‘s stance, although Washington has expressed unease over the Qatar strike.
Speaking alongside Netanyahu in Israel, Rubio said the only way to end the war in Gaza would be for Hamas fighters to free all hostages and surrender. While the US wants a diplomatic end to the war, “we have to be prepared for the possibility that’s not going to happen,” he said.
Washington has said it was not warned in advance before Israel attacked Qatar, which houses the biggest US military base in the Middle East. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Israel had to be “very, very careful.”
“They have to do something about Hamas, but Qatar has been a great ally to the United States,” Trump said.
QATAR DENOUNCES ‘COWARDLY AND TREACHEROUS’ STRIKE
Hamas has said the Israeli strike killed five of its members, including a son of its exiled Gaza chief, but its leadership survived. Qatar says one of its security agents also died.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani urged the summit to take “practical and decisive steps” in response to the “cowardly and treacherous” strike, saying it occurred as Hamas leaders were studying a US ceasefire proposal.
The final communique of the summit, which brought together states including Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, did not contain language that appeared in a draft seen by Reuters which said the Israeli attack and other “hostile acts” threaten coexistence and efforts to normalize ties in the region.
A separate statement by the Gulf Cooperation Council said Israel’s “continuation of these aggressive policies undermines … the future of existing understandings and agreements with Israel.”
The summit’s communique did call on countries to review diplomatic and economic ties with Israel, in what Arab League Assistant Secretary General Hossam Zaki said was an invitation to states that have relations with Israel to revise them.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, a US ally which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, told the meeting Israel‘s actions “put obstacles in the way of any opportunities for any new peace agreements and even aborts existing ones.”
RUBIO TO FLY TO QATAR
Rubio will travel to Qatar after his visit to Israel. He called on Qatar to continue to play a constructive role in resolving the Gaza conflict, saying it could help reach the goals of releasing all 48 hostages still held in Gaza, disarming Hamas and building a better future for Gazans.
But his words alongside Netanyahu suggested Washington now considers a diplomatic solution unlikely and is backing Israel‘s plan for a major new military operation that Netanyahu says will crush Hamas once and for all.
“As much as we may wish that there be a peaceful, diplomatic way to end it, and we’ll continue to explore and be dedicated to it, we also have to be prepared for the possibility that’s not going to happen,” said Rubio, calling Hamas “savage terrorists.”
“Hamas needs to cease to exist as an armed element that can threaten the peace and security of the region,” he said.
Netanyahu did not rule out annexing the West Bank in response to moves by some countries to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly later this month. France and Britain are among the countries that have said they will do so.
Asked whether Israel was considering extending its sovereignty to the West Bank, Netanyahu said: “A future step is a future step. We don’t need to expose it ahead of time.”
“It’s clear that taking unilateral actions against us simply invites unilateral actions on our part,” he said.
While diplomacy was unfolding in Jerusalem and Doha, Israeli forces continued their military campaign in Gaza City.
The war in Gaza was triggered by a rampage into southern Israel by Hamas terrorists who killed around 1,200 people and captured 251 hostages.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.