24 years after 9/11, Israel likens its Qatar strike with Bin Laden killing

It has been 24 years since the United States faced its worst terrorist attack in history. 10 years later, it launched a targeted strike against Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the group that hit the US. Now, Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said his forces used the same strategy to eliminate Hamas leaders in Qatar.

In a statement defending this week's surprise strikes in Qatar, the Israeli prime minister advised Doha to not give "terrorists" a safe haven.

He said: "We went after the terrorist masterminds who committed the October 7th massacre. And we did so in Qatar which gives safe haven, it harbors terrorists, it finances Hamas, it gives its terrorist chieftains sumptuous villas, it gives them everything. So we did exactly what America did when it went after the Al-Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan and after they went and killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan."

Qatar, a close US ally, has been hosting negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war, and plays a key role as an intermediary.

New York prepared to mark the devastating attacks of September 11, 2001 on Thursday, 24 years after the deadly plane hijackings that claimed almost 3,000 lives and forever changed the United States.

Vice President JD Vance was expected to attend memorial events at Ground Zero in Manhattan where the World Trade Center's twin towers were destroyed in coordinated attacks that also saw a jetliner crashed into the nerve center of American military power, the Pentagon in Washington.

Another jet, Flight 93, crashed into the Pennsylvania countryside when passengers overran the hijacker and took control of the aircraft.

The official death toll was 2,977 including the passengers and crew of the four hijacked planes, victims in the twin towers, firefighters, and personnel at the Pentagon. The death toll excludes the 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers.

Aftermath of 9/11

After the attacks, the US, led by George W Bush, invaded Afghanistan to dismantle al-Qaeda and capture bin Laden. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and remains in custody at Guantanamo Bay, where legal proceedings over his role in the attacks have been ongoing. Bin Laden was killed in 2011 in Pakistan.

The US established the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to strengthen national and airport security. Laws such as the USA PATRIOT Act were introduced.

Many first responders and survivors have suffered long-term health issues from exposure to toxic debris, leading to more deaths. As of 2025, nearly 50,000 individuals have been diagnosed with cancers linked to the September 11 exposure, and over 8,200 have died from related illnesses, as per The World Trade Center Health Program.