Israel targets Hamas leadership in unprecedented airstrike on Doha

Israel struck a building in Doha on Tuesday afternoon, targeting Hamas officials who were present in the Qatari capital as the group reviewed the latest proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The targeted officials survived the attack, according to a Hamas official cited in media reports.

The step represents the first Israeli attack to target Qatar, a United States ally and mediator in the negotiations toward a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials had threatened action against Hamas in recent days, including the movement’s representatives abroad.

Qatar issued a statement in the minutes after the airstrike to “condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly Israeli attack that targeted residential headquarters housing several members of the Hamas Political Bureau.”

The Hamas negotiation delegate was convening in Doha to discuss the latest US ceasefire proposal, according to a leader in Hamas who spoke anonymously to Al Jazeera.

Images published in the aftermath of the attack showed smoke rising over the Katara district of Doha, while street level footage showed the airstrike had blackened and hollowed out the lower floors of a multi-story building.

Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee confirmed that the military and Shin Bet ordered an airstrike targeting Hamas leadership.

Israeli reports claimed that Hamas Political Bureau head Khalil al-Hayya was present, as well as Khaled Meshaal, Mohamed Darwish, Razi Hamad and Izzat al-Rishq.  

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority said Israel had informed the United States of its intention to eliminate senior Hamas officials in Qatar, citing an Israeli official.

Gaza Government Media Office head Ismail Thawabta said the attack “constitutes a deliberate undermining of the course of negotiations and a clear declaration of rejection of any efforts to end the war or achieve any progress in the negotiations.”

The airstrike came hours after Israel’s military ordered the entirety of Gaza City’s population to evacuate, vowing to escalate its ongoing operation on the strip’s capital.

Both Israeli officials and US President Donald Trump had issued an ultimatum in recent days, threatening heightened military action unless Hamas accepted a deal immediately.

A new proposal was reportedly submitted to Hamas in recent days, comprising vague terms sketched out in a missive of approximately 100 words.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened on Monday to expand Israeli attacks against Hamas both inside Gaza and abroad.

“This is a final warning to the murderers and rapists of Hamas in Gaza and in the luxury hotels abroad,” the official said, deploying language often used in Israel to describe Hamas’ exiled leadership. “Release the hostages and lay down your weapons — or Gaza will be destroyed, and you will be annihilated.”

Israel has assassinated Hamas leaders in both Lebanon and Iran during its genocidal war on Gaza, killing Saleh al-Arouri in a Beirut drone strike in early 2024 and Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran months later. 

The strike on the Qatari capital, however, represents a historic precedent. “Qatar affirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and its continued tampering with regional security,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said, adding that “investigations are underway at the highest level, and further details will be announced as soon as they become available.”