An explosion rocks the capital of the Gulf state of Qatar. The Israeli army announces that it has carried out a targeted attack on the Hamas leadership. Steps have been taken to avoid endangering bystanders.
Israel's military says it has attacked the leadership of the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gulf state of Qatar."For years, these members of the Hamas leadership directed the terrorist organization's operations, are directly responsible for the brutal massacre on October 7, and orchestrated and directed the war against the State of Israel," the Israeli military said.
According to Israeli media reports, Hamas leader Khalil al-Haya was among those targeted. The news channel Al-Arabiya reported that al-Haya was killed. There has been no confirmation yet. The news channels Al-Jazeera and Doha News reported that Israel attacked the Hamas negotiating team.
The Israeli military itself spoke of a targeted attack on the Hamas leadership. The army did not provide any details about the location of the attack. It stated that steps had been taken to avoid endangering bystanders.
Images show smoke over Doha
Qatar condemned the Israeli attack on Hamas representatives as "cowardly." The government declared the attack a blatant violation of international law. A high-level investigation is underway.
Hamas in Qatar
The Hamas leadership has long been based in Qatar, which acts as a mediator in the talks between the terrorist organization Hamas and Israel in the Gaza war.
Al-Haya is the highest-ranking Hamas leader abroad, who also leads the Hamas delegation in the indirect ceasefire negotiations with Israel. Al-Haya spent most of his time in Qatar. Other senior Hamas officials abroad also mostly live in Qatar or Turkey.
Following the unrest of the Arab uprisings in the region, Hamas opened a political office in Qatar in 2012. Even before that, significant amounts of money had flowed from the Gulf emirate to Hamas, which had seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007. Following the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, calls for the Qatari government to close the office grew louder.
Ten days ago, Israeli Chief of Staff Ejal Zamir threatened attacks on Hamas leaders abroad."We are not finished with our actions yet," he said after an attack on Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida."Most Hamas leaders are abroad, and we will reach them as well."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also issued a stark warning to Hamas on Monday."Today, a massive hurricane will sweep across the sky of Gaza City, and the roofs of the terror towers will shake," Katz wrote in a post on the X platform."This is the final warning to the Hamas murderers and rapists in Gaza and in the luxury hotels abroad: Release the hostages and lay down your weapons—or Gaza will be destroyed and you will be annihilated," Katz wrote.
ll with dpa/Reuters
