ISTANBUL

Israel targeted the Palestinian group Hamas’ negotiating delegation in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday with an airstrike that the group described as “failed,” but which brought back into the spotlight two senior leaders -- Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin.

Hours earlier, Hamas announced that Israel had failed in its attempt to assassinate its negotiating team working on a Gaza ceasefire during a raid in Doha.

The strike killed several people, including Hammam al-Hayya, son of the movement’s Gaza leader Khalil al-Hayya, his office director Jihad Lubad, three aides and Qatari security officer Badr al-Dosari.

Hamas political bureau member Suhail al-Hindi told Al Jazeera TV that “the movement’s leadership, headed by Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, survived the cowardly assassination attempt,” explaining that the bombing took place during a meeting of the negotiating team to discuss a US proposal.

Khalil al-Hayya: Frontline leader

Khalil al-Hayya is one of Hamas’ most prominent figures. He is part of a five-man leadership council that has led the group since the death of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, having previously served as his deputy.

He has been Hamas' chief negotiator during ceasefire and hostage talks and is responsible for many of the movement's foreign and political affairs.

Al-Hayya came into greater focus after successive Israeli assassinations eliminated several top leaders of the movement, including Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Saleh al-Arouri, making him a leading candidate to head Hamas politically and organizationally.

He previously chaired Hamas’ Arab and Islamic Relations Office in the 2021 leadership elections.

Born in 1960, al-Hayya earned a PhD in Hadith and Prophetic Traditions from the University of the Holy Quran in Sudan in 1997. He was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council for Gaza City in 2006.

In May 2007, eight of his relatives, including several of his brothers and their children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting him. Al-Hayya was not present during the attack.

Al-Hayya lost his son Hamza, a field commander in the al-Qassam Brigades, in 2008 during clashes with the Israeli army in eastern Gaza.

Members of his family have also been killed in the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

Zaher Jabarin: Freed prisoner

Zaher Jabarin, Hamas’ leader in the occupied West Bank, hails from the city of Salfit and is considered one of the founders of the Al-Qassam Brigades in the territory, playing a central role in building the movement’s military structure there.

He was first arrested by Israeli forces in 1993, during the First Intifada, and was sentenced to life in prison. He was held responsible for several military operations against Israel in the 1990s. He was released in a 2011 prisoner swap deal and deported outside Palestine.

Earlier Tuesday, Hamas said the Israeli strike occurred during a meeting to discuss the latest ceasefire proposal by US President Donald Trump. On Sunday, Trump, a close ally of Israel, confirmed that a new proposal had been presented to Hamas to end the Gaza war. Hours later, Hamas announced that it had received ideas from the US through mediators and welcomed any initiative to help end the nearly two-year conflict.