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Israel still clarifying results of attack on Qatar — Netanyahu

The Israeli PM refused to acknowledge that the attack on the Qatari capital had been unsuccessful

TEL AVIV, September 15. /TASS/. Israel is still determining the final results of the attack on Qatar, which aimed to eliminate the top leadership of the Palestinian movement Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"We are still getting the final reports," the prime minister said in response to a question about the outcome of the operation in Doha.

At the same time, he refused to acknowledge that the attack on the Qatari capital had been unsuccessful. According to Netanyahu, the main result of the attack was to signal to Israel's enemies that they cannot hide from retaliation. "I will tell you what the impact of the strike is. We’ve send a message to the terrorists: ‘You can run, but you cannot hide, and we will get you,’" the Israeli prime minister said.

In response to a follow-up question on the topic, he said: "I don’t accept the premise of your question, which is that the raid failed." "It did not fail because it had one central message, and we considered it before we launched it [the attack]. And that is: ‘You can hide, you can run, but we’ll get you.’ And this is important. Terrorists think they enjoy immunity, they’ll do it (attacks - TASS) again and again. And if you deny them that immunity, they will think twice," Netanyahu said.

He once again compared Israel's decision to the actions taken by the US following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. According to the prime minister, this analogy justifies and legitimizes his country's actions against those it considers terrorists. He also reiterated that Israel planned and carried out the operation independently and takes full responsibility for the strike on the Qatari capital.

On September 9, the Israeli Air Force attacked a residence in Doha where senior Hamas leaders were meeting. According to Qatari sources, a security officer was killed and several others were injured. Hamas denied media reports that members of its negotiating delegation had been killed. However, they acknowledged that five members of the group had been killed in the attack, including the son of the movement's leader in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli authorities have not yet reported on the results of this operation.