Israel has used fighter jets to fire ballistic missiles into space over Saudi Arabia in its recent strike on leaders of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in the Qatari capital, Doha, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The secret strike involved eight F-15s and four F-35s, which flew about 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) to the Red Sea on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula, from where they launched air-launched ballistic missiles over Saudi Arabia at Doha, the American daily newspaper reported on Saturday, citing several US officials with knowledge of the operation.
The report said that Israel strategically positioned its fighter jets in the Red Sea and launched missiles into space to avoid accusations of violating Saudi Arabia's airspace.
It also revealed that the flight path chosen by Israel allowed the attack to avoid Arab states' airspace and be swiftly executed, providing the United States with little time to object.
According to several US officials, Israel notified the US military of the impending attack against Hamas just minutes before the strike, without initially providing precise information on the target.
However, they said, space-based US sensors detected the launch and trajectory of the missiles, confirming Doha as the destination, although this information did not reach the administration of US President Donald Trump in time to potentially prevent the attack.
A senior US defense official described the operation as “absolutely unimaginable,” saying “notice was given so close to the actual launching of missiles that there was no way to reverse or halt the order.”
On Tuesday, the Israeli regime attacked a residential area in the Qatari capital of Doha, targeting Hamas’s leadership.
Top Hamas leaders, who were meeting to discuss a Gaza ceasefire proposal, survived the attack. However, five members of the Gaza-based resistance group and a Qatari security officer were killed.
The aggression sparked widespread condemnations across the region while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Tel Aviv would target Hamas in other countries.
Washington considers Qatar, which hosts its Al Udeid airbase in the desert outside Doha, as a key Persian Gulf ally.
Qatar had been hosting Hamas and serving as a key mediator in ceasefire talks between Hamas and the Israeli regime.
Following the deadly strike, Qatar decried Israel’s “cowardly” assault as “state terrorism,” promising to respond to the strikes.
Qatar will soon host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha to discuss the Israeli airstrikes on the Persian Gulf state’s capital city.
