Israel launched an attack in Qatar on Tuesday targeting Hamas leadership. An unprecedented strike against key mediators of the Gaza conflict threatened to curb new peace efforts and further tensions in the region.
A senior Israeli official told CNN that among the targeted people was Hamas’ chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya. “We are waiting for the outcome of the strike,” the official said.
Hamas said Tuesday that the strike killed five members but failed to assassinate the negotiation delegation. Al-Haiya was not listed among the dead, but his son and the superintendent of his office were killed on a strike, Hamas said.
Qatar and Hamas both said Qatar security guards were also killed in the strike.
The Qatar’s prime minister was visibly angry as he described the attack as “state terrorism” in a press conference. “This is a message to the entire region. It means that there are rogue players in this region,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Jasim al-Thani.
Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said the “co-sick Israeli attack” targeted a residential building that houses several members of the Hamas Political Bureau in Doha.
“While strongly condemning this attack, the Qatar state emphasizes that it will not tolerate this reckless and irresponsible Israeli action,” Al Ansari told X.
Hours after the strike, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel could accept a new US ceasefire proposal and bring the war closer to an end with the attack.
“A time when the day when the terrifying heads enjoyed immunity everywhere was over,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew at an event at the US embassy in Jerusalem. “We will not allow such immunity to the killers of our people,” Israeli security officials said the operation “could create a shift” that could put an end to the war in Gaza, but it is unclear how targeting Hamas chief negotiators would lead to such changes.
Qatar is a key mediator of Gaza’s ceasefire talks and maintains direct channels with the US, Israel and Hamas. It also hosted multiple negotiations, with senior Israeli officials (including head of the Mossad Spy Agency and top Israeli negotiators) visiting Doha. It remains uncertain whether such a visit will continue.
Einav Zangarkar, the mother of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza, said Tuesday’s strike would serve as a death sentence for her son.
“I am trembling with fear. At this moment, the Prime Minister may have essentially executed my matan and sentenced him to death,” Zangerker wrote to X:
United Nations secretary Antonio Guterres condemned the attack, saying “Qatar has played a very positive role in achieving a ceasefire and liberation of all hostages.”
Israeli officials said over 10 fighters attacked more than 10 fighters, fired more than 10 ammunition, all attacked a single target in Qatar’s capital.
An Israeli source who spoke to CNN said the US had been notified prior to the strike. The two U.S. officials confirmed to CNN that the Trump administration had been notified.
In a statement, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said, “Today’s action against Hamas’ top terrorist chief was a completely independent Israeli operation. Israel has launched it, Israel will implement it, and Israel will take full responsibility.”
The short Missive appeared to be designed to keep the United States away from Israeli attacks on key American allies in the Middle East.
White House spokesman Caroline Leavitt said he called the strike “unfortunate” and refuted President Donald Trump’s goals in the region. “We are unilaterally bombing within Qatar, a sovereign state, a close ally of the United States, working hard to take risks bravely to mediate peace with us, but we are not moving forward with Israeli or the American goals,” she said.
Still, Leavitt’s carefully expressed statement made clear that “eliminating Hamas” was a “valuable goal” and stopped denounce Israel’s actions.
Later on Tuesday, Trump was far from the attack and tried to publish an addendum in an earlier statement from the White House, which designated decisions had been made by Israeli leaders and that the US had learned that it was too late for the US to intervene.
“This was a decision by Prime Minister Netanyahu, and it wasn’t a decision by me,” Trump wrote in the Society of Truth, inserting a line into a statement he read earlier from Leavitt’s White House Briefing Room.
Trump added that by the time his administration told Catalis that he learned of the attack there was little he could do to stop it. The Qatar prime minister previously said the US contacted Qatar 10 minutes after the attack occurred, and Israel used weapons that were not detected by radar.
Qatar’s Amiri Diwan said in a statement that Trump had expressed solidarity with Qatar after the attack in a call with Qatar chief Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani.
“Trump emphasized that Qatar is a reliable strategic alliance of the United States and called on His Highness to continue Qatar’s mediation efforts and end the war in the Gaza Strip,” the statement said.
Two Israeli sources said the attack, known as the “fire top,” was planned about two or three months ago, but has accelerated in recent weeks.
Qatar refuses to receive advance notice of strikes and calls a report suggesting that otherwise it is “unfounded.”
Qatar is home to Aludade Air Force Base, one of the closest allies in the Middle East and the largest US military facility in the region. It is Washington’s major security partner and was designated a major non-nat ally in 2022.
Al-Udeid was attacked by Iran this year after the US attacked nuclear facilities in Iran during Israel’s June campaign.
Following Tuesday’s strike, the US embassy in Qatar has begun ordering shelters for locations for facilities around the country, according to a post from X.
“We have seen reports of missile strikes occurring in Doha. The US embassy has ordered a shelter for the site for the facility. It is recommended that US citizens evacuate the site.” The order was later lifted, but the embassy said it will continue to monitor the situation.
Shortly after the explosion in Qatar, the IDF issued a statement that it targeted Hamas’ “senior leaders” with “accurate strikes” in a joint operation with the Sinbet security agency.
“For many years, Hamas leaders have led terrorist organisations operations, held accountable for the cruel massacre on October 7th, and coordinated and managed the war with the Israeli state,” the IDF said.
On Monday, Khalil Al Haiya met Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullan al Thani in Doha.
During the debate, Al Thani pressured Hamas to “respond actively” to Hamas and “respond more aggressively” to Gaza’s US ceasefire proposal, according to officials familiar with the conference. The proposal, proposed this week, called on Hamas to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for negotiations to end the war on the enclave.
It is not the first time Israel has carried out an attack that undermines US diplomatic efforts. In June, Israel launched a military campaign against Iran, with Washington discussing its nuclear program with Tehran. Both the US and Iran had already expressed doubt about progress, but the Israeli strike effectively ended the chance of an agreement.
