Doha: Israel has expanded its military campaign across the Middle East with a surprise airstrike targeting senior Hamas leaders in Qatar, the Gulf state that has long hosted the group’s political bureau and mediated ceasefire talks.
The strike, which rocked Doha’s Legtifya district near a petrol station and a residential compound guarded by Qatar’s Emiri Guard, sent plumes of black smoke into the sky. Ambulances and security forces rushed to the scene as residents reported multiple blasts.
Two Hamas sources stated that members of the group’s ceasefire negotiating team survived the attack. Israeli officials said the strike aimed to eliminate Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’ exiled Gaza chief and lead negotiator.
Qatar denounced the strike as a ‘cowardly act’ and a flagrant breach of international law. The United Arab Emirates, which normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords in 2020, called the move ‘blatant and cowardly,’ while Saudi Arabia condemned what it described as brutal Israeli aggression against Qatar’s sovereignty.
The attack is expected to deal a major setback to ceasefire efforts, with negotiations previously taking place in Doha alongside Egyptian mediation.
Hours before the strike, Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for a shooting that killed six people at a Jerusalem bus stop. Israel responded by issuing new evacuation orders for Gaza City, warning residents of a full-scale assault to dismantle Hamas’ last urban strongholds.
In Gaza, displaced civilians voiced despair. Since Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, Israel has pursued the group’s leadership across Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen, striking allied militias including Hezbollah and the Houthis.
The strike on Doha also strained ties with Washington. US President Donald Trump, speaking after the attack, said he was not thrilled and admitted Israel had notified the US too late for any intervention.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, defended the move, stating that, “We don’t always act in the interests of the United States. This was not an attack on Qatar or any Arab country – it was an attack on Hamas.”
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Gazans to reject Hamas and embrace peace, Israeli commentators acknowledged that the strike’s timing was controversial. Some officials questioned whether the operation undermined a fresh US-backed ceasefire proposal still under review by Hamas. Analysts say the raid risks deepening regional anger while failing to eliminate Hamas’ leadership.
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