He is remembered as a staunch defender of Palestinian rights: the late father-emir was the first Arab leader to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Written by: Mohammad Mansour
After the death of the late Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, on Sunday, his solidarity with the Palestinian people remained a defining element of his leadership legacy. He is remembered not only as a regional statesman but also as a steadfast ally of the Palestinian people, the only Arab leader to physically break the suffocating blockade on the Gaza Strip.
In October 2012, Sheikh Hamad visited the much-suffering Gaza Strip, six years after Israel imposed an international blockade on the territory following the 2006 Palestinian elections.
Accompanied by his wife, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, and a high-ranking delegation, the emir circumvented the political isolation imposed on the enclave by Western powers and regional actors, resulting in a huge official and popular reception.
Khalid Meshaal, head of Hamas' diaspora office, told Al Jazeera that the visit means "Jerusalem, Gaza and Palestine mourn him."„
„"He was the first Arab and Muslim leader to visit Gaza, and he stood by it with chivalry and generosity, as if he were officially announcing the breaking of the blockade in its darkest circumstances," Meshal told Al Jazeera. "He was an intelligent, courageous and principled man."”
According to Ahmed al-Sheikh, a veteran journalist, commentator on Arab affairs, and former news director of Al Jazeera's Arabic channel, the late father-emir "had a special love for Palestine.".
„Has any other leader in the Arab world done this [visit to Gaza] besides Hamad bin Khalifa?” al-Sheikh asked in an interview.
„"Why did he go to Gaza? Because he saw that everyone around Gaza was neglecting it," he added.
The late Qatari emir greets people in Gaza City as he arrives for a groundbreaking ceremony for a Qatari-funded rehabilitation center, October 23, 2012. [Hatem Moussa-Pool/Getty Images]
During this landmark visit, Sheikh Hamad announced that Qatar would increase reconstruction aid to the enclave from $254 million to $400 million, laying the foundation for vital housing, infrastructure and healthcare projects that have benefited thousands of Palestinians.
Speaking to a crowd gathered at the Islamic University of Gaza - where he and his wife received honorary doctorates for their humanitarian efforts - he praised the resilience of the Palestinian people while criticizing the international community's double standards.
Palestinian leaders and the former emir arrive for a groundbreaking ceremony for a new residential neighborhood, Hamad, in Khan Younis, October 23, 2012. [Mohammed Salem-Pool/Getty Images]
Personal pain and the „vanguard” of liberation”
His commitment to the Palestinian cause predates the Gaza blockade. In 1999, Sheikh Hamad became the first Gulf leader to visit the Palestinian territories since 1967, meeting with the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat at a time of critical political stalemate.
Al-Sheikh said the emir viewed the Palestinian struggle from a deeply personal perspective. When former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon besieged Arafat's Ramallah headquarters, the emir felt deep pain. He told aides that when Sharon attacked Muqatta's compound, it was as if he had attacked Qatar itself.
His connection to Palestine was also accompanied by the regret that he had never visited Jerusalem before the 1967 occupation. According to Al-Sheikh, this prompted him to commission a three-hour, comprehensive documentary about the holy city to capture its history and identity.
Rather than relying solely on international intervention, he believed in the capacity of the Palestinian people to act and that they were the indispensable vanguard of their movement. „You will take the first step, and without this step there can be no liberation,” the emir once told al-Sheikh.
Contradiction with the regional consensus
This stance often put him at odds with the regional consensus. During Israel's devastating 2008-2009 war on Gaza, deep divisions emerged among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) over the response to the crisis.
Sheikh Hamad convened an extraordinary Arab summit in Doha, proposing a $250 million reconstruction fund and a maritime corridor to bypass the blockade. He famously expressed his disappointment on live television that there was no Arab quorum for the extraordinary session. „God is sufficient for us, He is the best of guardians.”
Some of Gaza's most important infrastructure projects were the result of financial donations from Sheikh Hamad before the outbreak of the genocidal war by Israel in October 2023.
Qatar has funded the restoration of vital highways and the flagship project in Khan Younis, Sheikh Hamad City – a $58 million housing project with 53 modern apartment buildings for thousands of low-income families.
Additionally, the Sheikh Hamad Rehabilitation and Prosthetics Hospital, which officially opened in April 2019, has become the region's premier facility for amputees and hearing-impaired children.
Israel's genocidal war on Gaza has systematically obliterated much of the infrastructure funded by Qatar under Sheikh Hamad. Satellite images from May this year confirm that Hamad City and other areas in southern Gaza have disappeared from the map.
Sheikh Hamad Hospital resumed its vital services last December, despite direct attacks, severe shortages and the broader collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system. With the only CT scanner in northern Gaza, the hospital even opened a new unit in the south to cope with a 225 percent increase in amputation cases.
The continued operation of Sheikh Hamad Hospital during the ongoing genocide is a tangible legacy of the late Emir’s unprecedented efforts in the besieged enclave. His support for Gaza will endure for generations to come.
