Betul Yilmaz
09 September 2025•Update: 10 September 2025
ISTANBUL
Israeli warplanes launched an airstrike on senior Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday, in a new blow to efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal.
Explosions were heard in Doha, with footage showing plumes of smoke rising into the sky.
The Israeli army said it conducted a “precise strike” targeting the senior Hamas leadership, without specifying the location.
A senior Israeli official told the Walla outlet that the strike targeted senior Hamas leaders in Doha.
A senior Hamas leader told the Doha-based Al Jazeera television that the strike hit as group negotiators were discussing US President Donald Trump’s recent proposal for Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap.
Another senior Hamas leader confirmed to Al Jazeera that the Hamas leadership delegation survived the Doha attack.
“Today's action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
“Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility,” the statement said.
According to Israeli media reports, warplanes fired 12 missiles at sites where Hamas leaders were present in Doha.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the Israeli strike, calling it a “blatant violation of international law.”
“This criminal assault constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms, and poses a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar,” it said in a statement.
The ministry confirmed that security forces, civil defense, and relevant authorities addressed the incident and “took necessary measures to contain its repercussions and ensure the safety of the residents and surrounding areas.”
Qatar affirmed that it will not tolerate “this reckless Israeli behavior and the ongoing disruption of regional security, nor any act that targets its security and sovereignty.”
Qatar, along with Egypt and the US, has been mediating indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a potential prisoner swap and ceasefire deal.
Israel has killed more than 64,600 Palestinians in a brutal offensive in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and pushed the territory’s population into famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
