Israel has carried out an unprecedented strike in Qatar’s capital, Doha, targeting senior Hamas leaders in what it called a “precise assassination attempt”. The move marks the first Israeli attack on Qatari soil, raising fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East.
The explosions rocked the northern Katara district on Tuesday, damaging residential buildings where members of Hamas’s political bureau were based. Israel’s military confirmed it had acted in coordination with its domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet, describing those targeted as “terrorist chieftains directly responsible” for the 7 October 2023 attacks in southern Israel and the ongoing war in Gaza.
Read also:It is official: Famine has broken out in Gaza and Israel is to blame
“The 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,” the office of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Hamas officials told Al Jazeera the strike was aimed at its negotiating team, which had been meeting to consider a ceasefire proposal put forward by the United States. Suhail al-Hindi, a senior Hamas political bureau member, said the leadership survived what he described as a “cowardly assassination attempt”, though he confirmed the deaths of several people, including the son and office manager of Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya.
Read also: UK blocks Israeli government delegation from arms trade fair
Qatar, a long-time host of Hamas’s political bureau and a key mediator in indirect talks with Israel, condemned the attack in the strongest terms. A foreign ministry statement denounced the strike as a “criminal assault” and “a flagrant violation of international law”, warning it posed a “serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents”.
The Interior Ministry confirmed the death of Corporal Bader Saad Mohammed Al-Humaidi Al-Dosari, a member of the elite Lekhwiya security force, and said several others were injured. Authorities insisted that the wider situation in Doha remained under control, with specialised teams deployed to the site.
Read also: African press coalition slams Israel for targeting journalists in Gaza
International reaction was swift. United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the strike represented a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar”, stressing that Doha had played a “very positive role” in ceasefire efforts. “All parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it,” he warned.
Arab states across the Gulf, along with several other regional powers, issued statements of condemnation. The attack is seen as a direct challenge not only to Hamas but also to Qatar’s role as a mediator and host to the region’s largest US military base, Al Udeid Air Base.
Read also: Hamas accepts proposed deal for ceasefire with Israel and hostage release, Egyptian source says
Israel has previously carried out assassinations of Hamas leaders abroad, including political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, but the Doha strike dramatically raises the stakes. Analysts say it risks drawing Qatar more directly into the conflict while complicating international mediation.
As investigations continue in Qatar, the incident underscores how the war that began in Gaza is increasingly spilling beyond its borders – threatening to reshape the security map of the Middle East.
