Israel Strikes Hamas Leaders In Qatar Capital --- Attack inside U.S. ally leaves six dead, risks effort to end war in Gaza Strip

 

 

“Israel's air force bombed Hamas's senior political leadership in Qatar, a sharp escalation that struck inside a country closely aligned with the U.S. and risked derailing talks to resolve the Gaza war and free the hostages.

 

Hamas said its primary leaders in Doha survived Tuesday's strike, but five members were killed, including the son of Khalil Al-Hayya, its senior negotiator. Qatar said a member of its security forces was killed.

 

The U.S. was aware of Israel's plans in advance, but the attack drew a rare rebuke from the White House for striking inside the country that has hosted negotiators and sought to bring an end to the war.

 

The strike also reflected a shifting balance of power in the region that has allowed Israel to pursue its rivals with few restraints. Qatar, which hosts the U.S.'s most important air base in the region, condemned the attack.

 

"Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America's goals," President Trump wrote on Truth Social.

 

Israel's military told their American counterparts that an attack on Hamas targets was coming minutes before missiles were launched but didn't disclose a location, according to a U.S. official. The U.S. military officials saw the missiles launch and inferred the target. Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, learned of the strike en route to Cairo and spoke with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a U.S. official said.

 

The White House said the military notified Trump, who directed his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to inform Qatar.

 

"I view Qatar as a strong Ally and friend of the U.S., and feel very badly about the location of the attack," Trump posted on social media.

 

Later Tuesday, Trump said that Israel didn't notify him in advance of the strike.

 

The U.K., France, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt also condemned the Israeli attack. A spokesperson for the European Union said the raid breached international law and threatened to destabilize the region.

 

Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani of Qatar said his government was informed by the U.S. of the attack 10 minutes after the raid took place. "The Israeli enemy," he said, used weapons that couldn't be detected by radar during strikes on Doha.

 

The strike was the latest in a year of brazen attacks that have highlighted Israel's military and intelligence prowess, along with its appetite for action. In a relatively short period, Israel has wiped out the leadership of Hamas, Lebanese militia Hezbollah and Iran's nuclear program; destroyed much of Syria's military equipment; killed militant leaders and other enemies in Gaza, Tehran, Damascus and Beirut; and simultaneously exploded pagers and walkie-talkies carried by thousands of Hezbollah rank and file.

 

Israel's air force has demonstrated its ability to attack at great distances with repeated strikes on the Houthi militia in Yemen and hundreds of sorties over Iran, each more than 1,000 miles away.

 

Tuesday's attack targeted Hamas leaders Al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, one of the Israelis and a Qatari official said. Many of Hamas's top political leaders were gathered in a meeting at the time of the attack, Arab officials said.

 

"Israel acted wholly independently," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said. "This can open an end of the war in Gaza."

 

Netanyahu said he had met Israeli security chiefs at noon local time to authorize the strikes. The attack targeted the same location where Hamas leaders had celebrated Hamas's attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, he said.

 

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz earlier warned Hamas leaders abroad that they would be "annihilated" if the group didn't lay down its arms.

 

Hamas's political leaders maintain an office and residences in Doha. Video verified by Storyful showed smoke rising from the Qatari capital amid a series of explosions.

 

Israel has a history of attacking Hamas's political leaders. Officials in Israel and the U.S. have long been frustrated that leaders of Hamas, which the U.S. has designated as a terrorist group, are able to live openly and comfortably in Doha while their militant colleagues carry out bombings and other attacks in Israel.

 

On Tuesday, the group claimed responsibility for a shooting that killed at least six people in Jerusalem.

 

The Qatar arrangement has persisted in part because of the need to maintain contact with the group as mediators try to craft an end to the war in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas's deadly attacks on Israel in 2023. More than 64,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities, who don't say how many were combatants.

 

Talks have been stalled for months. After negotiating over proposals for phased cease-fire deals for much of the year, Israel shifted course and now said it would only discuss a deal that involves the return of all the remaining hostages held by Hamas and the group's removal from power.

 

The U.S. recently passed Hamas a new proposal, which called on the group to hand over its remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and a U.S. guarantee of talks to end the war, Arab officials familiar with the talks said. Hamas leaders were to meet on Tuesday to discuss the proposal, the officials said.

 

In a phone call with the emir, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman described Israel's attack as a "criminal act and a flagrant violation of international law," the Associated Press reported. He offered Saudi Arabia's "full solidarity" with Qatar.

 

Western leaders also condemned the Israeli attacks.

 

"Today's Israeli strikes on Qatar are unacceptable, whatever the reason," President Emmanuel Macron of France said.

 

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the attacks "violate Qatar's sovereignty and risk further escalation across the region." [1]

 

1. Israel Strikes Hamas Leaders In Qatar Capital --- Attack inside U.S. ally leaves six dead, risks effort to end war in Gaza Strip. Lieber, Dov; Said, Summer.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 10 Sep 2025: A1.