Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh resides in Doha
Reporter grills White House on Biden praising Qatar despite leader of Hamas living there
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby answered questions on U.S. negotiations with Qatar amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Fox News’ Peter Doocy confronted the White House Thursday over its friendly overtures to the nation of Qatar for helping to secure the release of American hostages in Gaza despite it being the home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
"Talking about getting Americans out of Gaza, President Biden said, ‘I want to thank our partners in the region, particularly Qatar.’ The leader of Hamas lives in Qatar, so why is President Biden thanking them for anything?" Doocy asked.
"Oh, geez, Peter. Let's take a step back here and look at this," National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby responded, appearing to roll his eyes.
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby takes questions during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 2, 2023. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Doocy pressed him, "They are a terrorist group that killed Americans and kidnapped Americans within the last month."
Kirby argued that Qatar had "been helpful" in getting Americans out of Gaza and that the nation was a "key player" in the talks for their release.
"Qatar has lines of communication with Hamas that almost nobody else has. Now, I'm not saying we support Hamas. Of course, we don't. They're a terrorist organization, and Israel has an absolute right to go after them. But Qatar has lines of communication that not everybody else has," Kirby said.
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Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh speaks to the press on September 22, 2023. (Cem Tekkesinoglu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
He then claimed the administration would bear the brunt of media criticism if they weren’t doing everything they could to get the Americans being held hostage out.
However, Kirby did not address Doocy’s question over Qatar allowing the leader of Hamas to reside in the country before going on to
Doocy jumped in, "You're making my point."
A woman holds a poster of Israeli hostage Omer Neutra during a memorial vigil for the Israeli people killed by Hamas during the October 7 attack, in New York City on November 1, 2023. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
"No I'm not. No I'm not," Kirby said.
"If Qatar is so helpful, why aren't we asking them to hand over the leader of this terrorist group?" Doocy asked.
Kirby repeated that the U.S. was working with Qatar to help get American hostages out and humanitarian aid into Gaza, but did not address the Hamas leader being allowed to live in Qatar.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.
