At least five Hamas members were killed on Tuesday after Israel launched airstrikes inside Qatar’s capital, Doha, in a dramatic escalation that threatens to upend ongoing ceasefire negotiations.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that 15 fighter jets carried out the assault, releasing 10 precision-guided munitions on a single compound allegedly housing senior Hamas figures. Loud explosions rocked the West Bay Lagoon district, with footage showing thick smoke rising from a heavily damaged complex near the Woqod petrol station on Wadi Rawdan Street.
Israeli media reported the strike was aimed at Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s chief negotiator, and Zaher Jabarin, a senior West Bank operative. Their whereabouts remain unknown. Hamas later confirmed five of its members were killed but insisted its negotiating delegation survived. The group also alleged that a Qatari officer was among the casualties.
Qatar’s Interior Ministry identified the victim as Warrant Corporal Badr Saad Mohammed Al-Humaidi Al-Dosari, a member of the elite Lekhwiya internal security force. Several other Qatari officers were injured, it said in a statement, adding that security teams were surveying and securing the strike zone to contain the situation.
Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’s political bureau since 2012, has been a key mediator in talks involving Israel, Hamas, and the United States. The strike drew strong international reactions, with Israeli leaders defending the action and the United Nations condemning it.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the attack “important and correct,” while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it marked “a turning point,” declaring: “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility. This can open the door to an end of the war in Gaza.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, however, blasted the assault as a “flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty,” warning it risked derailing negotiations. “Qatar has been playing a very positive role to achieve a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. All parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it,” he said.
The strike comes just days after Hamas signaled willingness to consider a US-backed truce proposal that would see the release of 48 hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Hamas has accused Israel of deliberately undermining the process, holding Washington “jointly responsible” for the attack in Doha.