Israel carried out a strike in Qatar on Tuesday aimed at senior Hamas leaders, Israeli officials said, expanding a campaign that has ranged from Lebanon to Yemen into the Gulf state that has hosted the group’s political bureau.
Qatar, a key mediator alongside Egypt in ceasefire talks over the nearly two-year Gaza war, denounced the attack as “cowardly” and a breach of international law.
Two Hamas sources said members of the group’s ceasefire negotiating team survived the strike. Israeli officials said targets included Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’ exiled Gaza chief and top negotiator.
Multiple explosions were heard in Doha. Black smoke rose near a petrol station in the Legtaifiya area, and emergency vehicles swarmed nearby streets, witnesses said.
Qatar’s Al Jazeera, citing a Hamas source, reported the attack was aimed at Gaza ceasefire negotiators meeting in the capital.
Israel has killed several senior Hamas figures since the group’s Oct. 7, 2023 assault on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and led to 251 hostages being taken, according to Israeli tallies. It has also struck targets in Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen during the conflict.
Tuesday’s operation threatened to upend delicate truce efforts, not least because it hit in Qatar, the Gulf state hosting rounds of shuttle diplomacy since early in the war.