Carney Calls Israeli Strike in Qatar ‘Intolerable Expansion of Violence’

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a joint media availability with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not shown) at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Aug. 26, 2025. The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi

Prime Minister Mark Carney criticized Israel’s strike on Hamas’s leaders in Qatar.

Israel targeted the headquarters of Hamas’s political leadership in Qatar on Sept. 9 as they were gathering to consider a U.S. cease-fire proposal for Gaza.

Carney called it an “intolerable expansion of violence,” in a Sept. 9 post on X, adding it was an “affront to Qatar’s sovereignty.”

Carney said the strike puts a cease-fire agreement at risk.

“Regardless of their objectives, such attacks pose a grave risk of escalating conflict throughout the region, and directly imperil efforts to advance peace & security, secure the release of all hostages, and achieve a lasting ceasefire — efforts in which Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani plays a highly constructive role,” Carney said in the post.

Hamas said in a statement its top leaders survived the strike but that five lower-level members were killed.

A member of Qatar’s Internal Security Force was also killed and others were wounded, Qatar’s Interior Ministry said.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he authorized “a surgical precision strike on the terrorist chiefs of Hamas.”

He noted it came a day after four soldiers and six Israeli civilians were killed at a bus stop in Jerusalem, adding that Hamas took credit for the attack.

“These are the same terrorists who planned—terrorist chiefs—who planned, launched, and celebrated the horrific massacres of October 7,” Netanyahu said.

He added that the Hamas leaders were in “exactly the same place” where they “celebrated” the Oct. 7 attack in 2023.

“On this day, as in previous days, Israel acted wholly independently, wholly independently, and we take full responsibility for this action,” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that his administration had been notified of the attack.

“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” Trump said in the post.

“However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal,” he added.

The president said he had directed U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff to inform the Qataris ahead of the strike, adding it was too late to stop the attack.

Qatar denied receiving any advance warning from the United States.

“The statements being circulated about Qatar being informed of the attack in advance are baseless,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari posted on X. “The call from a U.S. official came during the sound of explosions caused by the Israeli attack in Doha.”

Al-Ansari said Qatar condemned the Israeli move.

“This criminal assault constitutes a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms, and a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar,” he said in a Sept. 9 post on X.

He added that the country would not tolerate “this reckless Israeli behaviour” and said investigations were ongoing at “the highest level.”

Al-Ansari said “further details will be announced as soon as they become available.”

Emel Akan and The Canadian Press contributed to this article.