STRIKING TERROR: Israel Targets Hamas Leaders in Qatar Strike (Updated)

The IDF together with the Shin Bet announced on Tuesday that they had struck senior Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar.

In their joint statement, Israeli security services said that those targeted were among the masterminds of the October 7, 2023 massacre that left some 1,200 Israelis dead in the South, and that they had been directing Hamas’s terror activities for many years prior to that.

Israeli officials confirmed that Khalil al-Hayya was one of the intended targets, though his death has not yet been established.

Officials also said Washington was notified of the operation in advance and signaled its approval. Following the incident, the U.S. Embassy in Doha told American citizens to remain indoors under a shelter-in-place advisory.

“Hamas received the new proposal from the Qataris, which we [Israel] obtained from Witkoff last week in Paris. The prime minister met with the Hamas leadership yesterday, and they decided to meet again today to discuss the proposal, arriving from Turkey,” a diplomatic source told the Jerusalem Post.

“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,” he added.

“While the State of Qatar strongly condemns this assault, it confirms 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.”

Israeli authorities stressed that the strike was carried out with precision weaponry, using detailed intelligence, to ensure that only senior Hamas figures were hit.

The official communiqué from the IDF and the Shin Bet described the operation as a “precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization.”

“For years, these members of the Hamas leadership have led the terrorist organization’s operations, are directly responsible for the brutal October 7th massacre, and have been orchestrating and managing the war against the State of Israel,” the statement read.

There has been no word regarding Khaled Mashaal, the onetime Hamas leader who still serves as an influential figure within the group.

Until recently, a number of Hamas’s external leaders were considered too vital for negotiations to be eliminated.

But that changed in July 2024 when the Mossad assassinated Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, even though he was engaged in mediation efforts at the time.

That killing triggered a clash with the Biden administration, which charged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with deliberately preventing a hostage arrangement he was not yet ready to accept.

Israeli defense officials, however, stood behind Netanyahu, contending that Haniyeh had been a roadblock to progress and that his culpability for October 7 left no option but to remove him.

It is not yet known how the Trump administration will respond to this latest strike, as it is simultaneously working to push Israel and Hamas toward an agreement. The identity of Hamas’s chief negotiator going forward also remains uncertain.

This operation also broke with precedent, since it was openly executed by the air force in coordination with the Shin Bet, rather than covertly by the Mossad, which traditionally handles assassinations abroad, including that of Haniyeh.

Analysts suggested that the Mossad’s relatively stronger working ties with Qatar may have led Israel to keep the agency out of this mission.