Yemen’s al-Mashat slams Israeli attacks on Yemen, Qatar
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Mahdi al-Mashat condemned Israeli assaults, including an alleged plot in Doha, voiced support for Palestine, and urged Arab leaders to act beyond statements.
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Yemenis attend a weekly anti-Israeli rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, September 12, 2025 (AP)
Mahdi al-Mashat, head of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, said on Saturday that the message behind the Israeli occupation’s assault on Qatar was clear to all, warning that Arab leaders would eventually face the same threat. He reaffirmed Yemen’s steadfast support for Palestine and its just cause.
Al-Mashat noted that “the latest chapters of Israeli criminality included an attempt to assassinate a Hamas delegation in Doha, as well as brutal crimes against civilians in al-Tahrir district in Sanaa, in al-Jawf, and ongoing aggression on Hodeidah.”
He stressed that after years of killing, systematic destruction, siege, and deliberate starvation, Yemen today stands “firmer and more determined” in defending its land. He added that commemorating the September 21 Revolution also serves as a reminder of “our brothers in Gaza, who have been living for nearly two years under the crimes of the Zionist entity without deterrence.”
Al-Mashat renewed Yemen’s solidarity, both on the governmental and popular levels, with Arab nations facing continued Israeli attacks. He cautioned that “US bases in the region are meant to protect the Israeli enemy, not Arab states,” and voiced disappointment that the extraordinary Doha summit stopped at words of condemnation rather than adopting practical measures.
Qatar strike backfires against Netanyahu
A week after "Israel’s" missile strike in Qatar, the fallout is becoming clear, the assassination attempt on senior Hamas figures failed to achieve its goal and instead inflicted heavy diplomatic and political costs.
As Axios reporter Barak Ravid noted, the episode reinforced perceptions inside the Trump administration and abroad that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is reckless and destabilizing.
"Israel’s" objective, as per the piece, was to "eliminate several top Hamas leaders" as they gathered to discuss President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace proposal. Five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer were killed, but all the key targets survived. “None of the top Hamas leaders were killed. Maybe there were some shock victims,” a senior Israeli intelligence official admitted to Axios.
International solidarity with Qatar
Netanyahu had argued that "removing" hardline Hamas officials would ease the path toward a ceasefire and captive deal. Instead, negotiations collapsed. Hamas envoys went underground, while furious Qatari mediators suspended their role. One senior Israeli official said the group had been moving “in the direction of a deal” and that “we could have reached a breakthrough within days.” The strike, he conceded, “sabotaged the talks.”
The timing was especially sensitive, coming just ahead of the five-year anniversary of the normalization deals. Trump had hoped to expand normalization agreements between "Israel" and Arab states, but the debacle underscored how remote that goal now appears. Leaders at the Doha summit competed to denounce "Israel", with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi warning directly that Netanyahu was jeopardizing Egypt’s longstanding peace deal with "Israel".
