Israel targets Hamas leadership in strikes on Qatar
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Israel’s military has launched an audacious attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar, where the Palestinian militant group has long had its political base.
Qatar, which has acted as a mediator alongside Egypt in talks on a ceasefire in the almost two-year-old war in the Gaza Strip, condemned the action as “cowardly” and called it a flagrant violation of international law.
Two Hamas sources told Reuters that Hamas officials in the ceasefire negotiating team survived the attack.
It was not immediately clear if anyone was hurt in the attack.
Israeli officials told reporters the strike was aimed at top Hamas leaders including Khalil al-Hayya, its exiled Gaza Strip chief and top negotiator.
Several blasts were heard in Qatar’s capital Doha, Reuters witnesses said.
Plumes of black smoke were billowing from the city’s Legtifya petrol station.
Next door to the petrol station is a small residential compound that has been guarded by Qatar’s emiri guard 24 hours a day since the beginning of the Gaza Strip conflict.
Ambulances and at least 15 police and unmarked government cars thronged the streets around the blast site an hour after the strike.
Israel has killed several top Hamas leaders since the Palestinian group attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1200 people and taking 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel has also launched air strikes and other military action in Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen in the course of the Gaza Strip conflict.
An Israeli official confirmed to Reuters that Israel had carried out an attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar.
Qatar’s al-Jazeera television, citing a Hamas source, said the attack was aimed at Hamas Gaza Strip ceasefire negotiators.
The assault is likely to deal a serious if not fatal blow to efforts to reach a ceasefire – especially since negotiations took place in Qatar.
The United Arab Emirates, which normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords in 2020, called the Israeli attack on Doha “blatant and cowardly”.
UAE officials were already angry over an Israeli minister’s plan for annexation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, saying that was a red line that cannot be crossed.
Regional power Saudi Arabia denounced what it called a “brutal Israeli aggression” against Qatar’s sovereignty.
with AP
Reuters
