The United States Secretary of State Tony Blinken has reportedly asked the Qatari news network Al Jazeera ‘to tone down the volume of the coverage of the Israeli attacks on Gaza’, as reported by the Axios news site.
The request made to the Prime Minister of Qatar stated that the coverage being done by Al Jazeera was ‘inciting anti-Israeli sentiment in the region’, suggesting that the United States government, an essential Israeli ally in the war, was being intimidated by the coverage fearing a possible uprising in the Middle East.
Qatar has repeatedly been accused of supporting the Hamas resistance and acknowledging Hamas as a political organisation by hosting its leaders in Qatar. Qatar has responded by using the relationship as a means to secure the release of hostages.
Tony Blinken in a conversation with the Prime Minister of Qatar in Doha, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani has reportedly said that, “there can be no more business as usual with Hamas” given the rising tensions in the Middle East.
Qatar has so far managed to successfully negotiate the release of four of more than 220 hostages held by Hamas after their attack on Israel earlier this month.
Al Jazeera is one of the few news agencies that has correspondents reporting from ground the brutal aggression in Gaza. The news network on Tuesday reported that the bureau chief in Gaza, Wael al-Dahdouh‘s entire immediate family was killed as they took shelter Nuseirat Camp, south of Gaza, an area declared ‘safe’ by the Israeli government.
Palestinian Journalist’s Union has stated that 22 journalists have already been killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza since the war began on October 7th.
