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Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) on Tuesday said the Israeli strike on Hamas will limit prospects of returning hostages and future peace in the region.
“Well this certainly diminishes the prospects of returning the hostages and particularly those who are still alive, because what Hamas is saying right now is that the United States lured these people into Qatar in order to set up the Israeli strike,” Reed said during a Tuesday appearance on CNN’s “Inside Politics with Dana Bash.”
“So that undercuts our ability to be an interlocutor and someone that can help moderate a peace,” he added.
Senior Hamas leaders were struck in Doha on Tuesday in a series of explosions.
Israel said that prior to the strike, measures were “taken” to “mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and additional intelligence.”
However, current and former U.S. officials have taken issue with the violent attack.
“It’s a very dangerous and destabilizing escalation of tensions in the region,” former CIA Director John Brennan said of the Tuesday strikes during an appearance on “MSNBC Reports.”
“And I do think it basically, as Andrea says, lays waste to any prospect of near-term negotiations with Hamas on a ceasefire,” he added, speaking to MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Israel’s attack in Qatar.
“We are just learning about Israeli attacks in Qatar, a country that has been playing a very positive role to achieve a ceasefire and release of all hostages. I condemn this flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” Guterres said Tuesday at a press conference, according to Reuters.
“All parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it,” the UN secretary-general added.
The Israeli Tuesday attack follows the death of six people who were killed in Jerusalem by Hamas.
President Trump has continually called on Hamas to enter an agreement to end the war abruptly and conclude the conflict that has caused thousands of deaths.
“Everyone wants the Hostages HOME. Everyone wants this War to end! The Israelis have accepted my Terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well,” the president wrote Sunday on Truth Social.
“I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”
