Qatar becomes a key intermediary in Israel-Hamas war as fate of hostages hangs in the balance

The gasrich nation of Qatar has become a key intermediary over the fate of some 200 hostages held by Hamas militants after their unprecedented attack on Israel once again putting the small Arabian Peninsula country in the spotlightThe negotiations have also thrust Qatar into a delicate international balancing act as it maintains a relationship with those viewed as militant groups by the West while trying to preserve its close security ties with the United StatesUnder arrangements stemming from past Hamas ceasefire understandings with Israel the gasrich emirate of Qatar has paid the salaries of civil servants in the Gaza Strip provided direct cash transfers to poor families and offered other kinds of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in GazaQatar has also hosted Hamas political office in its capital of Doha for over a decade Among officials based there is Khaled Mashaal an exiled Hamas member who survived a 1997 Israeli assassination attempt in Jordan that threatened to derail that countrys peace deal with Israel Also there is Ismail Haniyeh Hamas supreme leaderThe US sanctioned Mashaal in 2003 for being ldquoresponsible for supervising assassination operations bombings and the killing of Israeli settlersrdquo Washington sanctioned Haniyeh in 2018 saying he had ldquoclose links with Hamas military wing and has been a proponent of armed struggle including against civiliansrdquoMashaal in an interview with Sky News this week said hostages taken during Hamas attack on October 7 could be released if Israel stops its airstrikes ldquo something improbable as Israel prepares for a ground offensive inside the Gaza StripIsraels military says 222 people including foreigners were believed captured by Hamas during the incursion and taken into Gaza Four of those have been released a mother and daughter on Friday and two more on Monday ldquoLet them stop this aggression and you will find the mediators like Qatar and Egypt and some Arab countries and others will find a way to have them released and well send them to their homesrdquo Mashaal said of the hostagesHosting the Hamas leaders has brought scrutiny to Qatar both in the past and since the attack over two weeks ago that killed more than 1400 people in IsraelHowever the Biden administration has repeatedly praised Qatar for its efforts in working to free the hostages and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Doha during his recent shuttle diplomacy trip in the regionldquoQatar is a longtime partner of ours who is responding to our request because I think they believe that innocent civilians ought to be freedrdquo State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on MondayMeanwhile Qatars ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani channelled the wider anger in the Arab world over Israels unrelenting airstrikes and siege of the Gaza Strip after the October 7 attackThe Hamascontrolled Health Ministry says the strikes have killed over 5000 Palestinians so farDuring Qatars hosting of the FIFA World Cup last year Palestinian flags were prominently displayed and Israeli journalists were sometimes harassedldquoIt is untenable for Israel to be given an unconditional green light and free license to kill nor it is tenable to continue ignoring the reality of occupation siege and settlementrdquo Sheikh Tamim said on Tuesday in a speech to the countrys Shura Council an advisory and legislative bodyHe slammed Israels siege saying that it ldquoshould not be allowed in our timerdquo to use as weapons the cutting off of water and preventing medicine and food supplies to an entire populationQatar a peninsula sticking out like a thumb into the Persian Gulf with a small population and military has always looked warily at its larger neighbours Saudi Arabia and IranIt faced a yearslong boycott by four Arab nations including Saudi Arabia over a political dispute which Kuwaits ruler at the time warned could have sparked a warIt also bore withering criticism from the US and others over its panArab satellite news network Al Jazeera It aired statements from the late alQaida mastermind Osama bin Laden and has been providing nonstop coverage of the toll of Israels punishing airstrikes in this war with Hamas including images of the dead and dying that have fuelled demonstrations across the Middle East and broader worldBut those concerns about larger powers have seen Qatar balance the risks through its diplomacy and hosting of the forward headquarters of the US militarys Central Command at its sprawling AlUdeid Air BaseThe US considers Qatar as a major nonNATO ally and Doha has widening defence trade and security cooperation with America including priority delivery for certain military salesThe AlUdeid base served as a key node in Americas chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan while Qatar also hosted the Taliban officials with whom Washington earlier negotiated to end the longest US war But Qatars negotiations have led to headaches in the past Most recently Qatar agreed to have just under USD 6 billion in Iranian assets once frozen in South Korea transferred to Doha as part of a September prisoner swap between Tehran and the USAfter the Hamas attack Qatar and the US agreed not to act on any request from Tehran to access those funds for humanitarian goods as initially planned ldquo at least for nowThat enraged sanctionschoked Iran and left Qatar ldquowalking the tightrope of international relationsrdquo said David B Roberts who has long studied Qatar as an associate professor at Kings College London and recently published the book ldquoSecurity Politics in the Gulf MonarchiesrdquoldquoThe reality is it is quite straightforward that so many senior government people in Israel and America want Qatar to have this role and Qatar ultimately will be seen in a broadly positive light in trying to free these hostagesrdquo Roberts said ldquoIf you do want this unique spotrdquo he added then youre not signing yourself up for an easy liferdquo