Israel launched an airstrike in Qatar on Tuesday targeting Hamas’ political leadership, escalating its military campaign beyond Gaza and drawing widespread international condemnation. The strike killed at least five Hamas members, including the son of senior leader and negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, but top Hamas figures reportedly survived.
Qatar, which hosts Hamas’ political bureau and has mediated ceasefire talks, denounced the attack as “state terrorism.” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani accused Israel of trying to sabotage negotiations and confirmed that one member of Qatar’s internal security forces was killed, with others wounded.
The strike infuriated Washington, where U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy about every aspect” of the attack. “Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” Trump said, though he added that eliminating Hamas remained a “worthy goal.” He pledged to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani that such an incident “will not happen again.”
Israel defended the action as retaliation for a Hamas shooting in Jerusalem on Monday that killed six people, as well as the deaths of four Israeli soldiers in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared: “The days are over when terror leaders can enjoy immunity of any kind.”
The attack drew condemnation from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, the European Union, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called Qatar’s mediation role “positive and indispensable.” Pope Leo also voiced rare, sharp concern over the risks of escalation.
The strike also alarmed families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, who fear it could endanger negotiations for their release. Hamas’ political bureau said Israel had failed to assassinate its leadership but vowed retaliation.
The timing of the strike was particularly sensitive. Qatar hosts the U.S. al-Udeid Air Base, the largest American military facility in the Middle East, and had been working with Egypt to broker a Gaza ceasefire. Trump revealed that U.S. forces received only brief notice before the attack, and that Washington did not approve or coordinate with Israel.
Meanwhile in Gaza, Israel dropped leaflets urging civilians to flee Gaza City ahead of what it called a final push to eliminate Hamas. The nearly two-year conflict has already killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, with Israel facing growing accusations of genocide.
With Israel also striking Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Yemen in recent months, the attack in Qatar marks a new stage of regional escalation that risks undermining both diplomacy and U.S. efforts to secure a negotiated end to the war.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
