Remembering Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani: The First Arab Leader to Breach the Gaza Blockade

Following the passing of the Father Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, on Sunday (12/7), his solidarity with the Palestinian people remains one of the most defining legacies of his leadership. He is remembered not only as a regional statesman but also as a steadfast ally of the Palestinians and the only Arab leader to physically breach the crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip. In October 2012, Hamad visited the besieged Gaza Strip, six years after Israel imposed a crippling international blockade on the territory following the 2006 Palestinian elections. Accompanied by his wife, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, and a high-level delegation, the Emir defied the political isolation imposed by Western and regional powers, triggering a massive official and popular reception. Khaled Meshaal, head of the Hamas diaspora office, told Al Jazeera that the visit meant Jerusalem, Gaza, and Palestine mourn his passing. “He was the first Arab and Muslim leader to visit Gaza, standing by it with chivalry and generosity, as if officially announcing the breaking of the blockade in its darkest circumstances,” Meshaal said. “He was intelligent, courageous, and a man of principle.” Ahmed al-Sheikh, a senior journalist and former director of Al Jazeera Arabic Channel, said Hamad possessed a special kind of love for Palestine, reflecting that no other Arab leader had made a similar visit to Gaza. During the historic visit, Hamad announced an increase in Qatar’s reconstruction grant for the enclave from US$254 million to US$400 million (approximately Rp6.4 trillion). These funds laid the foundation for vital housing, infrastructure, and healthcare projects that benefited thousands of Palestinians. Speaking at the Islamic University of Gaza—which awarded him and Sheikha Moza honorary doctorates—he praised the resilience of the Palestinian people while criticising the international community’s double standards. Hamad’s commitment to the Palestinian struggle predated the Gaza blockade. In 1999, he became the first Gulf leader to visit Palestinian territories since 1967, meeting the late President Yasser Arafat amid a critical political stalemate. According to al-Sheikh, the Emir viewed the Palestinian struggle through a deeply personal lens. When former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon besieged Arafat’s headquarters in Ramallah, the Emir was deeply distressed, equating it to an attack on Qatar itself. He believed in the power of the Palestinian people to spearhead their own movement. “You will carry out the main action, and without this action, there will be no liberation,” the Emir once told al-Sheikh. This stance often put him at odds with regional consensus. During the 2008-2009 Israeli war on Gaza, Hamad called for an emergency Arab summit in Doha and proposed a US$250 million reconstruction fund and a maritime corridor to bypass the blockade. Several of Gaza’s most vital infrastructure projects before the outbreak of war in October 2023 were the result of Hamad’s financial commitments. Qatar funded the rehabilitation of major roads and the flagship Hamad City project in Khan Younis, a US$58 million public housing development with 53 modern apartment buildings. Additionally, the Sheikh Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics, which opened in April 2019, became a key facility for people with disabilities and children with hearing impairments in the territory. Although much of the Qatari-built infrastructure has been destroyed by the ongoing war, the Sheikh Hamad Hospital managed to continue providing vital services as of last December, despite direct attacks and severe supply shortages. Hamad’s extraordinary efforts in the besieged enclave will be remembered by future generations as a testament to unwavering support.