Qatar, a U.S. ally, is the regional power best positioned to both influence Hamas and play a mediating role with Israel. Here's what to know.
People walk along a street as a plume of smoke rises in the background during an Israeli strike on the Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, as battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement continue.People walk along a street as a plume of smoke rises in the background during an Israeli strike on the Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, as battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement continue.
Qatar has been able to play this role because it has hosted Hamas leaders in exile, though it's unclear whether it can keep doing so amidThe Biden administration and senior Israeli officials have lauded Qatar's role in trying to free more than 200 hostages, among them children and elderly, held by militants in Gaza.Qatar has long hosted or directly talked to groups the U.S. and Europe do not want to deal with directly in difficult negotiations.
Qatar has also sent construction materials into Gaza after infrastructure was destroyed in previous Israeli wars. It also helped pay for United Nations food rations to Gaza's poorest families.The Qatar-based news network, primarily funded by the government, is one of the most widely seen Arabic channels in the world. It's also one of the very few broadcasting live from across the Gaza Strip throughout the current war. It's broadcasting on Arabic and English channels.
The news network and Qatar have been intertwined since the Arabic channel's launch in 1996. Qatar's then-ruler financially backed it when it launched, and it has mostly been funded by the Qatari government, which derives much of its wealth from gas exports. Its chairman is a member of Qatar's ruling family.and household name in the Middle East, was killed while wearing a clearly marked"press" vest in the West Bank. Israel and the U.S.
The country maintains close ties with Iran, with which it shares an underwater gas field in the Persian Gulf. Iran rushed to its aid when, elevating the security partnership even more. Late last year, his administration described Qatar as one of the United States'"closest military partners in the region" and said Qatar's efforts in Gaza had helped to stabilize the territory.
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