Israel launched an airstrike against Hamas leaders in Qatar on Tuesday, expanding military actions that have ranged across the Middle East to include the Gulf Arab state where the Palestinian group has long had its political base.
Qatar, which has acted as a mediator alongside Egypt in talks on a ceasefire in the almost two-year-old conflict in Gaza, condemned the attack as “cowardly” and called it a flagrant violation of international law.
Two Hamas sources told Reuters that Hamas officials in the ceasefire negotiating team survived the attack, which followed an evacuation order in Gaza City, where Israel is waging an offensive to try to destroy the group and its military capabilities in the Gaza Strip.
“The IDF (Israeli military) and ISA (security agency) conducted a precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organisation,” the Israeli military said, without specifying where the strike took place.
An Israeli military official told AFP that the military had carried out air strikes. “The name of the operation in Doha is Summit of Fire. These were air strikes,” a military official said.
Some Israeli media outlets reported that United States President Donald Trump had allowed the attack.
However, the Israeli prime minister’s office said, “Today’s action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation. Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.”
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told Al Jazeera that there was no comment from the US administration at this time on the Israeli strikes.
“The US president is likely to be the first to comment on his Truth Social platform. Additionally, we have a press briefing coming up in three and a half hours, and that is when the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will have the opportunity to answer a lot of questions,” she said, adding that “whether the US commander in chief greenlighted this attack on Qatar — where the US has a military base — or not, is something for speculation at the moment.”
“We were informed in advance,” a White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity about the strike on Qatar, a key ally that’s home to a large US military base.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes following a deadly shooting in Jerusalem a day earlier, claimed by the Palestinian group.
“Yesterday, following the deadly attacks in Jerusalem and Gaza, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed all security agencies to prepare for the possibility of targeting Hamas leaders,” said a joint statement from Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz.
“Today at noon, in light of an operational opportunity … the prime minister and the defence minister decided to implement the directive given last night. “
The assault is likely to deal a serious, if not fatal, blow to efforts to reach a ceasefire, especially since negotiations took place in the Gulf Arab country.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari slammed the attack, saying: “The State of Qatar strongly condemns the cowardly Israeli attack that targeted residential buildings housing several members of the Political Bureau of Hamas in the Qatari capital, Doha. This criminal assault constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms, and poses a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar.”
He said the security forces, civil defence and relevant authorities immediately began addressing the incident and taking necessary measures to contain its repercussions and ensure the safety of the residents and surrounding areas.
“While the State of Qatar strongly condemns this assault, it confirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behaviour and the ongoing disruption of regional security, nor any act that targets its security and sovereignty. Investigations are underway at the highest level, and further details will be announced as soon as they are available,” the spokesperson said.
Israeli media, citing a senior Israeli official, said the attack was aimed at top Hamas leaders, including Khalil al-Hayya, its Gaza chief.
Smoke was seen rising over the Katara District in the capital, an eyewitness said.
@Brackly News.today Smoke rises after explosions were heard in Doha on Tuesday. The Israeli military claimed it targeted senior Hamas leaders, after AFP journalists in Doha reported explosions and smoke rising above the Qatari capital, where the Palestinian group’s political bureau is based. Via Reuters, AFP. #Brackly NewsToday
♬ original sound – Brackly News.com
Plumes of black smoke were billowing from the city’s Legtifya petrol station. Right next door to the petrol station is a small residential compound that has been guarded by Qatar’s emiri guard 24 hours a day since the beginning of the Gaza conflict.
Ambulances and at least 15 police and unmarked government cars thronged the streets around the blast site an hour after the strike.
AJ reported the head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) condemned the “heinous” Israeli attack on the Qatari capital, saying it “constitutes a serious violation of international law and the sovereignty of the State of Qatar”.
“It is considered a threat to security and stability in the region,” PLO Secretary General Hussein al-Sheikh said in a statement.
Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza, condemned Israel’s targeting of its ally’s leaders.
Israel’s “targeting of a meeting of leaders of … Hamas in the Qatari capital, Doha, is a blatant criminal act that violates all human standards and values, as well as the most basic international laws and norms”, Islamic Jihad said in a statement.
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised the targeting of Hamas leaders.
“Terrorists have no immunity and will never have immunity from Israel’s long arm anywhere in the world,” Smotrich wrote on X, hailing a “right decision and a perfect execution by the IDF (Israeli military) and the Shin Bet (security agency)”.
The US embassy in Qatar told citizens to shelter in place.
China’s embassy in Qatar issued a safety advisory to Chinese nationals after the Israeli strikes.
In a notice published on its social media platform, the embassy urged Chinese to “try to reduce unnecessary outings and avoid going to high-risk areas”.
The strikes come less than two weeks after armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir vowed to target the group’s leaders based abroad.
“Most of Hamas’s leadership is abroad, and we will reach them as well,” Zamir had said on August 31.
Hamas and Israel have held multiple rounds of indirect ceasefire negotiations brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States throughout the nearly two-year Gaza conflict.
Despite two temporary truces, the talks have failed to bring a lasting end to the fighting that has led to over 64,000 Palestinians killed.
Trump said on Sunday he was issuing a “last warning” to Hamas, saying the Palestinian group must accept a deal to release Israeli prisoners.
“The Israelis have accepted my terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning,” he had said on social media.
“We had some very good discussions. Good things could happen,” he told reporters. “I think we’re going to have a deal on Gaza very soon.”
In response to Trump’s comments, Hamas had said it was ready to “immediately sit at the negotiating table” following “some ideas received from the American side aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement”.
In exchange for a truce, Hamas said it wanted “a clear declaration of the end of the war, a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the formation of a committee of independent Palestinians to manage the Gaza Strip, which would begin its duties immediately”.
Hamas had agreed last month to a ceasefire proposal that involved a 60-day truce and staggered prisoner releases.
Israel, however, has demanded that Hamas release all the prisoners at once, disarm itself and relinquish control of Gaza, among other conditions.
Today’s attack came as Israel stepped up a deadly assault on Gaza City, the Palestinian territory’s largest urban centre.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video statement addressing residents of the city: “I say to the residents: you have been warned, leave now!
“All of this is just a prelude, just the opening, to the main intensified operation — the ground manoeuvre of our forces, who are now organising and assembling to enter Gaza City.“
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