Israel targets Hamas leadership with strike in Doha, Qatar
10 hours agoDuration
Israel struck the headquarters of Hamas political leaders in Qatar on Tuesday, killing five of its members, as the militant group's top figures gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The strike on the territory of a U.S. ally marked a stunning escalation and risked upending talks meant to wind down the war and free the remaining hostages.
Hamas said that five of its members had been killed in the attack, including the son of Hamas's exiled Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya. But it said Israel had failed in what it called an attempt to assassinate the group's ceasefire negotiation team.
The attack angered Qatar, an energy-rich Gulf nation hosting thousands of American troops that has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas throughout and before the 23-month war. It condemned what it referred to as a"flagrant violation of all international laws and norms" as smoke rose over its capital, Doha.
However, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said in a news conference that the mediation efforts are part of the Qatari identity and nothing would deter its role in that regard.
The United States said Israel alerted it before the strike, but American officials sought to distance the U.S. from the attack. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff passed along a warning to the Qataris.
She said U.S. President Donald Trump believes the Israeli strike was an"unfortunate incident" that didn't advance peace in the region. She said Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and"made his thoughts and concerns very clear."
Al-Thani added U.S. officials first warned Qatar of the Israeli strike 10 minutes after it had already begun, describing the attack as"treacherous."
In a statement, Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the attack as"an intolerable expansion of violence and an affront to Qatar's sovereignty."
"Regardless of their objectives, such attacks pose a grave risk of escalating conflict throughout the region, and directly imperil efforts to advance peace & security, secure the release of all hostages, and achieve a lasting ceasefire — efforts in which [al-Thani] plays a highly constructive role," Carney wrote on X.
Guterres calls Israeli strike on site in Qatar 'flagrant violation' of sovereignty
11 hours agoFuture of talks uncertain
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres also condemned the strikes on Tuesday, saying they were a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar.
"All parties must work toward achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it," Guterres told reporters.
Hamas has survived numerous assassinations of top leaders and is still intact in Gaza, despite having suffered major blows since the outbreak of the war in October 2023.
The future of the long-stalled ceasefire talks was more uncertain as Israel gears up for a major offensive aimed at taking over Gaza City. That escalation has been met with heavy international condemnation and opposition within Israel from those who fear it will doom the remaining hostages.
Israel has long threatened to strike Hamas leaders wherever they are. While it has often welcomed Qatar's role as a mediator alongside Egypt, it has also accused the Gulf nation of not putting enough pressure on the group.
In contrast to previous Israeli operations against senior militants abroad, Netanyahu was quick to publicly claim the strike, saying:"Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it and Israel takes full responsibility."
He said the decision was taken Monday after a shooting attack in Jerusalem that killed six people and an attack on Israeli forces in Gaza that killed four soldiers.
The military said it used "precise munitions and additional intelligence" in the strike, without elaborating.
Qatar condemned what it referred to as a "cowardly Israeli attack" on Hamas's political headquarters in Doha. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said Qatar"will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior."
The U.S. Embassy in Qatar said that it had instituted a shelter-in-place order for its facilities before lifting it shortly after.
Ceasefire negotiations in question
Earlier this week, Trump said he was giving his"last warning" to Hamas regarding a possible ceasefire, as the U.S. advanced a new proposal that Arab officials said included the immediate release of all the hostages.
A senior Hamas official called it a "humiliating surrender document," but the militant group said it would discuss the proposal and respond within days.
An Egyptian official said the strike came when a meeting by Hamas officials over the talks had been scheduled for the site. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, because he wasn't authorized to talk to reporters.
The proposal, presented by Witkoff, calls for a negotiated end of the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza once the hostages are released and a ceasefire is established. That's according to Egyptian and Hamas officials familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door discussions.
Frank Lowenstein, former U.S. special envoy for Middle East peace, says Israel's move Tuesday signals a clear message.
"When you start killing negotiators inside of Qatar, you're essentially saying not only are these negotiations dead, but the main intermediary probably won't be playing a meaningful role going forward," Lowenstein told CBC News Network.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 48 hostages, around 20 of whom are believed to be alive, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying the war will continue until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed, with Israel maintaining open-ended security control over Gaza.
Mediators had previously focused on brokering a temporary ceasefire and the release of some hostages, with the two sides then holding talks on a more permanent truce. Witkoff walked away from those talks in July, after which Hamas accepted a proposal that the mediators said was almost identical to an earlier one Israel had approved.
International outrage
The war in Gaza has already left Israel increasingly isolated internationally, with even many of its Western allies calling for it to end the war and do more to address the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine.
Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates' foreign minister, expressed"full solidarity with our dear Qatar" shortly after the attack.
WATCH | CCTV footage captures Israeli attack targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar:
CCTV footage captures Israeli attack targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar
8 hours agoThe United Arab Emirates recently warned Israel that any move to annex the occupied West Bank would threatened the Abraham Accords, a landmark agreement brokered by Trump during his first term in which the two nations normalized relations.
Trump hopes to expand those accords to include regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia, but those prospects have dimmed as the war has ground on.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman described the strike as a "criminal act and a flagrant violation of international law" in a phone call with Qatar's ruler.
