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Canada condemned Israel’s military strike on Qatar on Tuesday, saying the attack undermines the Gulf country’s sovereignty and risks escalating conflict across the Middle East.

An explosion killed Hamas officials Tuesday in the Qatari capital of Doha. Israel said it targeted senior Hamas leaders it holds responsible for the brutal October 2023 attack.

Hamas said its main negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya survived the attack, which killed his son, four Hamas officials and a Qatari officer.

In a social media post, Prime Minister Mark Carney called the strike “an intolerable expansion of violence and an affront to Qatar’s sovereignty.”

“Regardless of their objectives, such attacks pose a grave risk of escalating conflict throughout the region, and directly imperil efforts to advance peace and security,” he wrote.

Carney said Canada has supported Qatar’s “highly constructive role” in attempts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, which includes efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants for nearly two years.

Ottawa has also worked with the emirate to secure the release of Ukrainian children taken by Russia.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand echoed Carney’s statement, adding that Hamas is a terrorist organization that must immediately release all hostages and disarm.

“The Middle East faces serious challenges, and sustainable peace and security must be prioritized over any actions that could lead to a broader conflict in the region,” she wrote.

“Today’s attacks undermine critical negotiations; Canada calls for a return to negotiations to achieve an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.”

In a statement, the Qatari embassy in Ottawa said the country is investigating “this reckless Israeli behaviour.”

“This criminal assault constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms, and poses a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar,” the embassy wrote.

Initial reports suggested U.S. President Donald Trump approved of Tuesday’s attack, but the White House insists Trump felt “very badly” that it happened to Qatar, a country that is a “strong ally” to the U.S.

Qatar has cultivated close ties with Trump and even gave him a free replacement for Air Force One. The attack on Qatar shocked the region and could deepen Israel’s already unprecedented international isolation.

Qatar hosts thousands of western troops, including Canadian soldiers.

For years, the oil-rich country 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 Gaza, propping up the Hamas-run government in the territory.

Israel allowed these financial flows into Gaza as part of past ceasefire arrangements with Hamas, but became critical of these payments after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

During that attack, Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in Israel and killed 1,200 more, mostly civilians. Forty-eight hostages are still inside Gaza and around 20 of them are believed to be alive; most of the others were released in ceasefires or other deals.

They are the last bargaining chip Hamas has and the militants say they will release them only in return for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

Hamas says Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and restrictions on food and other aid reaching the territory have killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, including combatants. The United Nations says about 90 per cent of the population of Gaza has been displaced and areas of the territory are experiencing famine.

The Hamas-run government and police have largely vanished but Hamas is still able to mount guerrilla-style attacks on Israeli forces. Four soldiers were killed Monday when a bomb was thrown into a tank.

Israel has carried out multiple strikes against top militants, Iranian generals and nuclear scientists over the past two years.

With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2025