Qatar ‘strikes back’ at Gaza mediation critics

DOHA / JERUSALEM: As a delegation from Gaza truce mediator Egypt arrived in Israel on Friday, criticism of Qatar over its role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas prompted a rare pushback by the Gulf state against its detractors.

Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’s political leadership since 2012 with the blessing of the US, has been engaged in months of behind-the-scenes talks, but in the face of calls — particularly from Israel and the US — for Qatar to exert pressure on Hamas, the emirate...