Return to Transcripts main page

One World with Zain Asher

Israel Targets Hamas Leadership in Qatar Strike; Israel Targets Hamas Negotiators In Strike On Qatar; Middle East Nations Condemn Israeli Attack In Qatar; Israel Strikes Hamas Targets In Doha; Netanyahu: Nations Shamefully Forgot October 7th; Soon: White House Responds To Israeli Attack On Doha. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired September 09, 2025 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:34]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Live from London, I am Christina Macfarlane. You're watching the second hour of "One World."

The fate of negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages may be hanging by a thread right now, following a surprise Israeli

attack on a key U.S. ally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLOSIONS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: The IDF and Israel Shin Bet Intelligence Agency carried out an unprecedented strike targeting Hamas leadership in the Qatari capital,

Doha. A senior Hamas source says it happened while its leaders were reviewing the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal that was unveiled just days

ago, when it comes on the very same day.

The IDF ordered some one million Palestinians to immediately evacuate Gaza City ahead of its planned military takeover. Israeli Prime Minister is

taking full responsibility for the Doha attack, but U.S. officials say the Trump administration was informed ahead of time.

Let's get straight out to CNN's Kevin Liptak joining us now live from the White House. And, Kevin, with the White House due to hold a press briefing

in two hours, questions, speculation is swirling, really, regarding how much the U.S. knew about this attack in advance and what tacit approval

they might have given.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And the briefings actually in one hours' time, 1:00 -- 1:00 P.M. Eastern Time. We'll see

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, who presumably will have some more details about what exactly the U.S. knew before this was carried

out.

We do understand from two U.S. officials that Israel did provide a heads- up, but what isn't precisely clear is how long that heads-up was. You know, the sense I get from sources is that it wasn't a particularly long

notification before Israel went ahead with this strike, which I don't think necessarily gave a chance for the U.S. to intervene in any way.

And the timing here is quite critical. Just as President Trump was hoping that this new proposal that he put on the table to try and bring the war in

Gaza to an end was under discussion by Hamas and the Qatari negotiators.

President Trump saying on Sunday that he thought the war in Gaza would end soon. And also issuing quite a stark warning saying that he had warned

Hamas about the consequences of not accepting a deal and saying that this is my last warning. There will not be another one.

And so the president clearly going quite frustrated with Hamas for not agreeing to some of the proposals that had been in place over the last

several months. But it's not necessarily clear how this latest action on the ground in Doha will help in any way as the president tries to push

forward with the resolution to that crisis.

What also isn't clear is how this will affect U.S.-Qatar ties going forward. You know, Qatar is one of the top U.S. allies in the region. The

Qataris have spent really, to be honest, the last several years trying to cultivate President Trump in the last several months as he reentered office

trying to sort of get in his good grace.

President Trump was the first sitting president to visit Qatar when he visited back in May. And thousands of U.S. troops are based at the Al Udeid

Air Base. That's the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command. So a lot at stake there.

What Qatari officials have said over the last several years is that it was actually the U.S. that requested that they host the Hamas leadership in

Doha as a way to have some of these negotiations. So, how all of this affects that relationship going forward, I think, remains very much to be

seen.

Now, the U.S. Embassy in Doha, as this was unfolding, advised U.S. citizens and its own employees to shelter in place. That shelter in place has now

been lifted, but certainly a very tense day.

And I think now an uncertain future, both for the Gaza negotiations, but also for this very critical diplomatic relationship in the Gulf going

forward.

MACFARLANE: Yes. And as you say, Kevin, we will look to that press conference in an hour's time for some answers.

But if indeed there was any sort of approval from the U.S. government for this strike to take place, that raises the question, as you say, of timing

here and what the U.S. strategically hope to get from this, especially when President Donald Trump has reiterated time and time again, you know, his

endgame here is to end the war in Gaza and to get the return of the hostages.

[12:05:02]

LIPTAK: Yes. And I think that's why the length of that notification is going to be very critical to note. Did President Trump essentially provide

a tacit green light? Or did Israel essentially notify the U.S. right before it, not allowing any time for the U.S. inter -- to intervene?

And I think when Karoline Leavitt comes out shortly to speak with reporters, she will have a pretty delicate balance to strike here. At the

one hand, the U.S. is going to be wary of angering both the Qataris, but also of throwing a wrench in these discussions to try and end the war.

I think in reality, Israel has kind of done that on its own by carrying out this strike. I think President Trump is going to be under pressure now to

try and find a way to salvage these negotiations to bring this conflict to an end.

Remember, he had said, as a candidate, that this would be very easy to resolve. He had a ceasefire in place when he came into office that

eventually fell apart. And every effort that he's put in place since then has sort of sputtered and not resulted in the conflict ending.

And in fact, Israel has only escalated the conflict as it vows to occupy Gaza City and potentially extend that operation outward.

And so how all of this gets resolved and how the U.S. moves from here, I think, is a question that I'm not sure that they have an answer to at this

moment. When I was talking to officials as this was all unfolding, they were still very much trying to digest what had happened here.

And at the end of the day, we also don't know exactly what the result of this strike was. Did it actually result in the deaths of some of these

Hamas leaders? I think that's very uncertain at this point. And that will affect how the U.S. responds going forward.

But there's no question that they will have a very delicate balance to strike here as they respond to this latest action.

MACFARLANE: All right. Kevin Liptak for now from the White House. We will keep a close eye on proceedings there.

Earlier, I spoke to my colleague CNN executive producer, Andrew Potter, who lives in Doha. He described hearing explosions that rattled the windows of

his apartment, located about three miles from the blast site.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW POTTER, CNN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: We know that the explosions took place near the West Bay Lagoon area. It's not Downtown Doha. It's a

residential area, which is home to many families, and many of them, expatriate families living here.

But it's also where a large building is located that's well known to people in this area. It's having been home to Hamas representatives in Qatar. Now,

that building sits very close to a large gas station. It's almost next door.

And from what we can see, the entrance to that Hamas building appear to be blackened by this attack.

The U.S. embassy in Qatar issued a shelter-in-place order for all its facilities in Qatar, saying it is seen reports of a missile strike

occurring in Doha and advising all U.S. citizens to shelter-in-place.

Now, we shouldn't forget that Al Udeid Air Bases is just outside Doha, and that's home to many thousands of U.S. military personnel. In fact,

President Trump visited that base in the city in May.

Now, the state of Qatar thus strongly condemned the attack, issuing a statement calling it cowardly and a criminal assault, which constitutes a

blatant violation of all international laws and norms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: All right. Coming up, we will get reaction from the brother of an Israeli hostage being held in Gaza. What he says about peace talks with

Hamas when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:10:00]

MACFARLANE: The sounds of a blast heard in Doha as Israel carries out what it calls a precise strike targeting Hamas leadership in Qatar. Qatar's

foreign ministry calls it a cowardly attack which it says targeted residential buildings housing members of the Hamas political bureau. Qatar

has been a key mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks.

The strike in Qatar came only days after Hamas negotiators have been presented with a new ceasefire proposal for Gaza which told the U.S. had

hoped the plan would bring Israeli hostages home and jumpstart negotiations for a comprehensive end to the war.

Now that effort appears to be derailed as Hamas' top negotiators were targeted in today's attack. The mother of one remaining hostage says she

fears Benjamin Netanyahu has sealed her son's fate.

And the brother of another hostage told CNN, he is unsure how negotiations can move forward after this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ILAY DAVID, BROTHER OF ISRAELI HOSTAGE EVYATAR DAVID: We're just so confused, so confused. I don't know if it's good or bad, to be honest, I

have no idea. I -- I -- I hope it will bring something good.

But again, those were the people that, as I understand, were the people that Qatar used in the negotiations. So right now, I don't know who is

Israel is going to negotiate it with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, Jeremy Diamond is tracking all of this with us live from Jerusalem.

And, Jeremy, before we get to the perspective of the hostages, I just want to ask you about some of the latest lines we've had coming in from Israel

on this attack as we consider as you've been saying for the past few hours the timing and why this happened now.

We're hearing new information from Israeli sources that this attack was in fact -- in fact two months in the making. What more can you tell us?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. I mean this is not the kind of Israeli operation that can be carried out and planned

overnight. This is something that was months in the making, according to sources.

But beyond that, ultimately, the decision seems to have been made relatively recently that's at least according to the Israeli Prime

Minister's office which is claiming that the prime minister yesterday gathered his security team and told them to prepare for this strike, and

ultimately, it was carried out today.

Now the prime minister's office did try and draw a connection between this terrorist attack that took place in Jerusalem yesterday in which two

Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a bus stop and killed six Israelis and wounded more than a dozen others.

But just given the fact that this was in the planning for months before suggest that this is a far that the timing of this is not simply or perhaps

not at all related to this Jerusalem terrorist attack that took place just yesterday.

Instead, I think, the broader context needs to be considered here when you look at the fact that this these negotiations had just been resuming with

the new U.S. proposal seeking to bring about an end to the war in Gaza, securing the release of the remaining 48 hostages in exchange for a

ceasefire and negotiations to end a war.

And then you see Israel carrying out this strike, which is not the first time that we have seen Israel take out key Hamas leaders or seek to take

out key Hamas leaders amid critical moments in these negotiations. And indeed, there are now questions about who will be remaining on the other

side within Hamas to negotiate this agreement if indeed these officials are confirmed to be killed.

We know that Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas' chief negotiator and its leader, was targeted in this strike. What we still do not know yet is whether indeed he

was actually killed as a result of this very brazen Israeli strike which took place in broad daylight in the Qatari capital of Doha.

MACFARLANE: And as we were seeing just there, Jeremy, responses coming now from hostage families, the brother of a hostage speaking out there. I mean,

they had been quite frankly desperate and hopeful that this latest round of negotiations would end and would result in a ceasefire deal.

[12:15:07]

What else are we hearing from hostage families in this hour?

DIAMOND: Yes, that's right. We just got a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum which says that they are following these

developments of this Israeli strike in Doha with, quote, deep concern and heavy anxiety, saying that the chances of bringing their loved ones home

now face more uncertainty than ever before.

And I think we've already been hearing a host of analysts who have said that at least in the short term, if indeed Israel has killed Hamas' senior

leaders in the Qatari capital, that would likely sink hopes at least in the short-term for reaching some kind of a ceasefire and hostage release

agreement.

At a minimum, it certainly injects enormous uncertainty in terms of how these negotiations can move forward, not just because it's unclear who

Israel would be negotiating with in terms of Hamas' leadership, but in addition to that, because of the fact that Israel has carried out this

strike on sovereign Qatari soil. And Qatar, of course, has played a key role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas over the course of nearly two

years now.

And they obviously very upset by this strike calling it a violation of international law and saying that this Israeli action will not go unnoticed

and certainly that there will be repercussions.

MACFARLANE: All right. Jeremy Diamond, I appreciate your reporting there from Jerusalem.

Well, nations in the Middle East are standing by Qatar and condemning the Israeli attack on Doha, the United Arab Emirates, which normalized

relations with Israel, under the Abraham Accords in 2020, called the Israeli strike treacherous. Saudi Arabia, denounced what it called a brutal

Israeli aggression against Qatar's sovereignty.

Turkey has also denounced the strike. And Egypt says the attack sets a dangerous precedent and undermines global efforts for de-escalation in the

region.

Well, Mina Al-Oraibi is the editor-in-chief of "The National" newspaper and joins us now from Doha, Qatar.

And just before I get your reaction to this, being there as you are in Doha, I have to ask, did you hear this attack? And -- and what are you

seeing in terms of the reaction and the mood there right now?

MINA AL-ORAIBI, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE NATIONAL: Christina, I'm afraid I have to correct you. I'm in Abu Dhabi, not in Qatar, not in Doha.

So, I'm afraid I can't give you any eyewitness statements. However, we have been speaking to eyewitnesses there and following very closely the

situation, the attack on Doha came as a major surprise, especially as they were closely watched talks.

There was hopes that the ceasefire talks could get somewhere soon, especially ahead of the U.N. General Assembly meetings and the fact that

the White House was behind these talks.

But there is general shock across the Gulf, as you rightly stated now. We've had very strong words coming from Abu Dhabi here, from UAE

leadership, but also Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt across the Arab world, because this was an incredible attack in broad daylight on an Arab capital

taken by the Israelis that have claimed responsibility for taking out Hamas leadership, even though it's still not clear who actually died in these

attacks.

There are still details coming out slowly, but it was shocking in terms of the breach of Qatar sovereignty.

MACFARLANE: And we know Qatar have played a key role here in the negotiations, crucial role, really, as -- as a U.S. ally in the region.

They have been very swift to condemn this attack, calling it criminal.

We have yet to hear from the United States as to whether they approve this attack. We know, of course, that they did have a heads-up that the attack

was imminent.

How at risk is the relations -- or relations now with Qatar in light of what could be a coordinated attack between -- between -- taken out by the

U.S. and Israel?

AL-ORAIBI: Well, it seems so far that the Israelis are claiming sole responsibility and saying that this was an Israeli decision, even though,

as you rightly said, they had informed the White House so that Americans are aware of this attack, but are not taking responsibility.

Let's not forget that the largest American base in the region, Al Udeid Base is in Qatar. Qatar is a strategic ally for the United States, but also

has played such an important role as a mediator.

And so to strike in the heart of the mediator's capital is a way for Israel to say they're not really taking these talks seriously, despite, again,

America saying that they are now behind these mediation talks.

They will be interesting to see the impact on relations and what the U.S. will do to try to show some goodwill towards the Qataris after all efforts

they've put in for mediation.

[12:20:10]

MACFARLANE: We have just been saying that that condemnation from the region has been swift coming from neighboring countries. The UAE calling this

attack treacherous Saudi Arabia warning of dire consequences.

Can you give us the big picture of the diplomatic ramifications that could come from this and what this could spell for the future of the Abraham

Accords?

AL-ORAIBI: It's really important to stress that for the Gulf countries, the security of one Gulf country is really the security of all the Gulf

countries. And this is the second time that Doha has been targeted. We had the very limited Iranian attack as a response to the American strikes on

Tehran. So we had that earlier in the summer.

And now, of course, a much more flagrant attack by the Israelis on Doha, unlike the Iranian attack, which was actually coordinated with the Qataris

and they were -- they were told what would happen.

This came out of the blue for the Qataris. And for the Gulf countries, as you said, putting it in context, the -- the region is a small region and

all these neighbors feel what happens in one country very closely to another.

And so this will affect relations not only with Israel, but the fact that again it shows that Israel is acting as an unleashed armed power that is

willing to go out and strike in countries. We've seen it, of course, in Lebanon and Palestine, in Yemen, and now to see it in Doha in a major

escalation.

And I think the Gulf countries will speak in one voice to call for accountability and also to make sure that this is a line that cannot be

crossed again.

MACFARLANE: And just your views very briefly on the timing of this attack. We know that there was a course of renewed effort from the United States to

-- to -- to carry out the ceasefire deal. We'd heard that Hamas were responding to this.

In order -- for this attack to have happened at this particular time, what does that say? And what strategically was Israel looking to -- to gain from

this?

AL-ORAIBI: As you said, the timing to come as ceasefire talks were progressing and as the U.S. had said, they want a comprehensive deal. This

wasn't just going to be a truce of a couple of weeks. This was supposed to be a comprehensive deal, one to end the war on Gaza, but also to release

the Israeli hostages, those who remain alive, but also to release the bodies of those who have died.

Now with this attack, it is a way to almost put a nail in the coffin of serious diplomatic efforts. There are reports by Reuters that Qatar has

stopped its mediation efforts. We're not sure how long that will go on for if it is confirmed.

And so the timing of it is, again, the Israeli government saying they're not really interested in diplomacy. They feel the ability to carry out

armed attacks where possible.

And so the effect that has on countries in the region that say we want long-term peace, we want to find a way to live with Israel, and be able to

create some sort of future that includes, of course, a Palestinian-Israeli existence, coexistence. That doesn't seem to be the interest or the

thinking of the current Israeli government.

And so, again, the U.S. playing a hugely important role because it has the largest amounts of leverage on Israel and perhaps the only country that can

pull it back from further escalation.

MACFARLANE: All right. Mina Al-Oraibi, for now, from Abu Dhabi. We appreciate your thoughts this hour. Thank you.

All right. Coming up more on this breaking news out of Doha, after Israel strikes Hamas targets in Qatar's capital. Stay with us.

(EXPLOSION)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:25:54]

MACFARLANE: Welcome back to "One World." I'm Christina Macfarlane.

Back to our major breaking story out of the Middle East. Now, just a short time ago, Israel carrying out an attack in Doha, the capital of Qatar. IDF

sources tell CNN, it targeted senior political leaders of Hamas, including negotiators who have been working on a peace deal for Gaza. Qatar called

the attack cowardly and a criminal assault.

Israel says it informed the U.S. and President Trump about the attack before it happened. We want to now show you video shot by someone on the

scene as the strikes were happening. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLOSIONS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Just a short time ago, the U.N. Secretary-General criticized Israel's actions and urged it to return to negotiations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: I condemn this fragrant violation of the sovereignty and territory integrity of Qatar. All parties

must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: This comes as the Israeli military is signaling that it's moving forward with its full-scale invasion of Gaza City.

Let's bring in our chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, joining me here in London. And it's important, Clarissa, to remember the

context in which this strike has taken place, not just with regard to the ongoing negotiations that were taking place, but also the operation to take

Gaza City and the -- and the fact that residents there had just been issued with full-scale evacuation orders.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think you could say, Christina, that Israel has literally just blown up any effort to put a

stop to this war.

And what they may also have done in the process is to deep damage to the U.S.-Qatari relationship. This is a hugely important strategic geopolitical

relationship that has been cultivated over many decades.

You were just discussing it with Mina in your last block, but Al Udeid Air Base, the largest in the region. President Trump's recent visit to Qatar,

the lavish fanfare with which he was received, the extravagant gift of the plane that created this giant brouhaha in Washington, D.C.

So, this is a hugely important relationship. And Qatar has served, not just as an ally, but as a negotiator. It has cultivated this space, a safe,

neutral space where nation-states and non-state actors and militant groups and terrorist organizations can come together and sit down at the

negotiating table and attempt to hash out some kind of a social media platform.

So, the question now becomes what happens with these negotiations? Effectively, their over will be entire negotiation team has been killed.

And we've seen this before, by the way, Christina. July of last year, 2024, Ismail Haniyeh, then the political head of Hamas assassinated by Israel in

Iran.

[12:30:05]

And we heard at the time from Qatar's prime minister where he put on X kind of a warning where he said, how can mediation succeed when one party

assassinates the negotiator on the other side?

Well, now we're seeing another assassination of another negotiator in the very place that is facilitating these talks. So, this is a staggering

attack on multiple levels. And I think it will take a bit of time before we fully get our arms around what the knock-on effect will be.

MACFARLANE: And the difference this time, of course, is that it's taking place on a sovereign nation and ally seemingly of the United States. And

condemnation from the region has been swift. We've been hearing just then from Saudi Arabia, from the UAE. What does this do to Israel's positioning

in the region?

WARD: Well, Israel has become a pariah state in the region. But I think the question as well that a lot of U.S. allies are asking themselves in the

region is if Qatar, with that closeness, with that deep relationship with America, can get hit on its own soil in this way, who is safe? Who is

protected? What does it mean then to cultivate that kind of a relationship with the U.S.? What does it mean to defend, on occasion, the U.S. in

various platforms?

And so it would be crucial to see how the Trump administration handles this in the coming hours.

We've seen the statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu effectively saying, we did it. We did it alone. We take full responsibility. But we

also know that the U.S. was alerted.

The question becomes, how much heads-up time did they get? Did they have a sense beforehand that it was a possibility? Did they attempt to talk Israel

out of it?

And for Qatar, that would be crucially important in terms of dictating the future of this relationship. Was this an affront? Was it an outright

betrayal? Was the U.S. really caught off guard and it was very much a heads-up only once the planes were in the sky?

President Trump now really has to walk a tightrope in terms of trying to explain the U.S.''s position in all of this to a domestic audience, but

also to the regional audience.

MACFARLANE: Yes. And we hope to hear and we expect to hear more from the White House in about half an hour's time.

But speaking of that U.S. airbase, Clarissa, I mean, I was hearing just earlier that there are hundreds of U.S. troops stationed there.

Do you have any idea how compelled Israel would have been given that to notify the United States to what -- you know, to what extent they would

have had to have dialed this in?

WARD: One hundred percent. There is no way Israel could launch an attack in Qatar near Udeid Air Base with all those U.S. servicemen and women there

without making the U.S. fully aware. And you saw probably afterwards that the U.S. embassy came out and issued a shelter-in-place warning for

everybody.

So, the U.S. takes the security, not just of its servicemen and women, but all Americans living in these various countries extremely seriously.

There's no way they would have embarked upon that, without giving some kinds of a heads-up.

MACFARLANE: All right. So we have Benjamin Netanyahu speaking now at the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRESIDENT: Now I said a few more words in a video that I had recorded earlier. And I think it's going to be shown

outside in the large gathering that you have there.

And I meant it from the heart because Israel has no greater friend than America, and America has no better friend than Israel.

But as I said, we've been busy in the last day after the horrific murders in Jerusalem, horrible murders. And, of course, the four soldiers that we

lost in Gaza.

And I want to say a few words about that, first in Hebrew and then in English.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:35:38]

MACFARLANE: We will, of course, bring you the translation for Benjamin Netanyahu speaking there in Hebrew at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem as soon

as we get it.

But I just want to turn back to Clarissa who's joining me here for reaction. Even Clarissa on what we just heard.

WARD: Yes, that opening line.

MACFARLANE: Yes.

WARD: Israel has no greater friend than America and America has no better friend than Israel.

And I think what we will come to learn in the coming hours when we hear from the White House, from President Trump, is to what extent the U.S. was

in the loop about this attack in Qatar.

And also, what their reaction is to it. Because whatever America's feelings may be about Hamas, its relationship with Qatar is valuable. It's something

that they have worked hard towards establishing. It is geopolitically and strategically crucial.

And so it is a little hard to fathom even from a distance why the U.S. would condone an attack like this, which would appear to directly

jeopardize the relationship as well as torpedoing these talks, which according to multiple sources, as you've been discussing throughout the

hour with various reporters and commentators, were seemingly at kind of an inflection point.

MACFARLANE: And it'll be interesting to know if we learn anything more on what the strategy is here from the United States. We know President Donald

Trump has been coming out all along and saying his aims here are to end the war in Gaza and the return of the hostages.

Well, on the latter point, I mean, that seems a very distant prospect right now.

WARD: You know, one of the things I read that sort of gave me chills was from the mother of a hostage inside Gaza who took to X immediately after

the strike. And she has been critical before of Netanyahu.

And she just said that this strike -- with this strike Netanyahu, could effectively have executed my son, quote, why is he insisting on blowing up

every chance for a deal?

And -- and there are many people, and I think this gets lost sometimes, there are many people in Israel who agree with that and who feel the same

way and who do want to see an end to the war in Gaza, a return of the hostages.

But it is impossible to see how today's strike, in any way, helps further that objective despite the platitudes that we have heard from Israel's

leadership.

MACFARLANE: Clarissa, thank you for now.

We will, of course, continue to follow this press conference from Benjamin Netanyahu taking place at the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. We'll bring you

that as soon as we have it.

But that for now our breaking news coverage, Israel's strike on Hamas targets in Qatar. And how will this attack affect the ongoing peace talks?

Something we've just been discussing. We'll speak to a former U.S. security official who's negotiated such deals.

We are in fact going to go back to Benjamin Netanyahu now. I believe we have got the translation. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU (through translator): The rape and murder of women, the burning of babies, the taking of over 250 hostages, innocent hostages,

grandmothers, grandchildren, Holocaust survivors. They perpetrated the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Now, they were meeting in the same place, exactly the same place, where they celebrated this savagery almost two years ago.

At the beginning of the war, I promised that Israel would reach those who perpetrated this horror. And today, Israel and I have kept that promise.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

[12:40:00]

Now much of the world -- much of the world including much of the democratic world, or governments at least, have shamefully, shamefully forgotten

October 7th. But I don't forget, and Israel will never forget, never.

(APPLAUSE)

There was a time when Jews could be murdered with impunity, but since the founding of the state of Israel, those days are over.

(APPLAUSE)

On this day, as in previous day, Israel acted wholly independently, wholly independently, and we take full responsibility for this action. And this

action can open the door to an end of the war, end of the war in Gaza.

Israel has accepted the principles, the proposal put forward by President Trump to end the war, beginning with the immediate release of all our

hostages, which have been held in the dungeons of Gaza for 700 days.

If President Trump's proposal is accepted, the war can end immediately. We can begin once again to pursue the expansion of peace in our region for the

benefit of all.

But I want to close by directing my words to the people of Gaza. Don't be derailed by these murderous terrorists, by these killers. They don't care a

hoot about you. They live in sumptuous villas. You can't imagine how sumptuous, away from this battle scene.

Their partners in Gaza, don't worry about you. They go to the underground tunnels and they keep you above ground so you serve as human shields for

them. Don't be derailed by these killers. Stand up for your rights and for your future. Make peace with us. Accept President Trump's proposal. Don't

worry.

You can do it. And we can promise you, a different future, but you've got to take these people out of the way. If you do, there is no limit to our

common future. Thank you.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking there at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, saying he kept his promise to perpetrate justice for

October 7th. Clarissa is back with me here.

Clarissa, it was interesting that he seems to think that President Trump's deal after that following that strike in Doha is still on the table and he

is still urging Hamas to accept the proposal. That's what I read.

WARD: Yes. I think it was one of those kind of extraordinary press conferences, whereby the end of it, you had even less of an understanding

of what the actual strategy here was for Israel.

Obviously, you know, Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to focus on October 7th, chastising the international community, and particularly Western

nations for. quote, shamefully forgetting about it, and to try to basically pivot the story away from the key issue here, which is, how do you continue

to negotiate for peace when you continue to assassinate the negotiators?

And how do you expect any country to take up the mantle that Qatar has fulfilled by creating this space in order to facilitate these types of

dialogues and negotiations if you are not going to, you know, to stop yourself from launching attacks on those sovereign countries?

So, I don't think Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech will have given many people any answers that they were looking for. I think the key words that

we're looking to hear from right now are actually from Washington, D.C., in terms of the White House's take on this.

MACFARLANE: Yes. Which we expect in roughly 15 minutes time. Clarissa, thank you.

I want to bring in CNN global affairs analyst and former Middle East coordinator for the National Security Council, Brett McGurk.

And I guess, Brett, just, you know, picking up where Clarissa left off there in terms of what possible strategy Israel could have here in carrying

out this attack at this time, in this point of negotiations, and what they hope to gain by essentially assassinating the key negotiators who are there

to reach a deal.

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: You know, something at the same time can be not surprising and yet shocking. And that's kind of my initial

reaction to this. Not surprising in the sense that all the leaders of Hamas since October 7th, 2023, have been dead men walking. The Israelis have made

clear no matter how long it takes, they will come after them. That has been given.

[12:45:00]

But it's shocking for a number of reasons. Number one, the location in Doha. Hamas is in Doha. They're not being harbored there. They're there

because the Israelis and the United States has asked Qatar to play this role, this mediation role, even before October 7. So that is why they're

there. They're not in the secret compound. Everybody knows where they live.

Second, these negotiations have been underway. I -- I think I gave very small likelihood to the deal if the U.S., at least it's been reported, put

on the table a few days ago. I think there's almost zero chance Hamas is going to take that deal. But there was efforts to get a process moving

again.

The third reason I think this is shocking is, you know, Israel, I was in this role of trying to negotiate hostage deals and spending a lot of time

in Doha and Cairo. When the Israelis assassinated Ismail Haniyeh then the political leader of Hamas in Tehran.

The Israelis, you might recall never took credit for that operation. Almost five months later, they first acknowledged it. They kept it secret. It's a

clandestine operation. Here in a very brazen way, the Israelis immediately said, we did it. We're coming after them. You just heard the Prime Minister

speak from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

So, just a very brazen, open operation. So again, not surprising in some ways and yet shocking. As for where this leads the talks, look, I think

Qatar already has a statement out. They're going to suspend their mediation efforts. I think that's not surprising.

Who are you even dealing with to try to get a deal? The obstacle to a deal for many months has been the leadership of Hamas inside Gaza, first

Mohammed Sinwar. He was then killed by the Israelis. And then Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who is the current militant leader in Gaza, who has been saying

no deal under any circumstances.

I think the prospects for hostage deal here now are extremely challenging to put it charitably and where exactly this goes. I think nobody -- nobody

knows.

MACFARLANE: Yes. And, Brett, we've heard Netanyahu's office saying that this was a wholly independent operation on their half, but we have also

have our own sources saying that, of course, the U.S. was informed that this attack was coming.

We expect to hear from the White House in the next 15 minutes or so. We may learn more on this, but what would that tacit approval from the United

States signify, especially in light of the fact that this just came days after Donald Trump put out that statement threatening Hamas to take this

ceasefire deal on the table?

MCGURK: Yes. I'm -- I'm reminded a little bit of the 12-day war of the Iran where it looked like, you know, maybe there was a lack of coordination. I

think we understand after the fact, all the moves were very tightly coordinated.

If I'm trying to connect some of the dots between the president's statement two days ago in which, again, put this offer on the table, it requires

Hamas to release all hostages and all remains on day one of a process to ultimately perhaps come to resolution of the war.

We all would hope Hamas would do that. They should do that. What they're doing is absolutely outrageous, but Hamas is highly unlikely to do that, to

give up all of what they see as their leverage at the front end of a process. That was the offer.

And Trump said this is the last chance. Take it or leave it. So, there might be some level of coordination here between Washington and the

Israelis then meets the eye. I think we'll learn more over the coming days.

I would expect the first statements in the White House to basically reiterate what we just heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu saying, this can

end tomorrow. Take the deal. Take the deal that Trump put on the table. Take it now.

But the question is, who in Hamas can even take the deal? We don't know who's really left.

So, it's a challenging road ahead. I am -- I have to say in thinking about how Hamas thinks and having negotiated with them and studied them and --

and just knowing how they think this barbaric terrorist organization.

I am deeply concerned that in their response to this -- this act, they very little they can do against Israel. They're -- they're significantly

weakened, but they control the fate of the hostages in the tunnels.

And I am -- I am concerned about the fate of those hostages. I hope I'm wrong, but I could see Hamas trying to take some revenge out on -- on some

of the hostages.

MACFARLANE: Yes. And it really does call into question, doesn't it? What the strategy hit was here all along in light of that.

Brett McGurk, we really appreciate your thoughts this hour. Thank you.

MCGURK: Thank you.

MACFARLANE: And we are just moments away from that White House press briefing. And we will be live at the White House, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:16]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

MACFARLANE: Returning to our breaking news and out of Doha in Qatar, where Israel carried out an attack that it says targeted the Hamas leadership.

Qatar has played a major role as a mediator in talks over Gaza ceasefire, keeping indirect contact with the U.S., Israel and Hamas.

Moments ago, the Israeli Prime Minister praised the strike, saying it was an attempt to settle the score with Hamas murderers. Qatari officials have

called it a criminal assault. The U.S. says it was informed ahead of the attack, but Israel stresses it was an independent Israeli operation.

And we're just moments away from the White House press briefing. We'll bring you that as soon as it gets underway.

But now let's go to CNN's Kevin Liptak who is joining us from there outside the White House.

And you all have seen Kevin, of course, in the last 10 minutes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem,

saying Israel has no greater friend than America. Give us your response on the symbolism and the timing of that speech.

LIPTAK: Yes. And certainly the fact that it was occurring at the U.S. Embassy, at least, is a symbolic nod that the U.S. stands behind its ally

in the region amid this new, fresh uncertainty caused by this airstrike.

And I think when Karoline Leavitt comes out to the White House podium to speak, she will be the first U.S. official speaking on the record about

what is now occurring there.

And it will be interesting to hear her answer questions about what the extent of the U.S. knowledge was ahead of time.

You know, we do know, according to U.S. officials that Israel notified the U.S., but we don't have a good sense of how long the U.S. knew.

You know, when I'm talking to my sources, the sense I get is that it wasn't a great deal of heads-up. And whether there's any sort of tacit, either

green light by the President to -- to the Israelis to go ahead and carry out this strike, or whether the U.S. is concerned that this could

potentially derail the hostage and peace efforts that were underway.

And that President Trump said, just on Sunday, that he thought could yield some fruit very soon. So, a -- a lot of questions for Karoline Leavitt

before she comes out here.

I think the other thing that she'll have to answer for is what this does to U.S. Qatar ties. Obviously, Qatar is a top U.S. ally. In the region, the

Qataris have spent the last several months trying to cultivate President Trump.

President Trump was the first sitting U.S. President to visit Qatar back in May. He visited the Al Udeid Air Base, which is the forward headquarters of

U.S. Central Command and home to thousands of American troops.

So, quite a critical relationship that I think is now going to be very tested by what the Israelis have carried out here, and whether or not the

U.S. essentially approved these strikes ahead of time.

[12:55:02]

So, I think it will be a balance for Leavitt to strike here. Certainly the U.S. is going to stand by Israel. That's sort of a given at this point.

But whether or not she can provide any solace to the Qataris about what the U.S. knew ahead of time and whether the U.S. gave any sort of tacit

approval for this, I think, will be very closely parsed, which both here at the White House and in the briefing room but also in regional capitals.

MACFARLANE: Yes. A delicate balancing act for sure for the United States given those strategic alliances with Qatar and with others in the region,

as you mentioned.

Kevin Liptak, for now, thank you. We will look ahead to that press conference.

But that's it for us for now. I'm Christina Macfarlane. You're watching "One World." "Amanpour" is up next. Stay with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLOSIONS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) Oh, my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:00]

END