Doha/Gaza, September 11: Israel launched a rare long-range strike on Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital on Tuesday, an unprecedented move inside the territory of a close U.S. ally that threatens to derail fragile ceasefire negotiations over the war in Gaza.
The strikes, part of what Israel called Operation Summit of Fire, hit the upscale West Bay Lagoon district of Doha, killing six people, including five Hamas officials and a Qatari security officer. Hamas said its chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya was targeted but survived, though his son and office director were among the dead.
Israeli officials said more than 10 fighter jets, refueled mid-air, carried out the attack using radar-evading munitions. Qatar’s foreign ministry denounced the strikes as “state terrorism,” accusing Israel of violating its sovereignty without warning.
The attack, Israel’s first on a Gulf Arab state, is seen as a direct blow to Qatar’s long-standing role as mediator between Israel, Hamas and the United States. Qatar hosts Hamas’ political bureau as well as the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, and has been central to ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations.
Hamas vowed the strike would not alter its demands in the talks, but Qatari officials said the attack risked halting mediation efforts entirely. Families of Israeli hostages voiced fears the operation could endanger their relatives held in Gaza.
President Donald Trump, who has backed a new U.S. ceasefire framework accepted by Israel, distanced himself from the operation. “I’m not thrilled about the whole situation,” he told reporters in Washington, adding the United States learned of the strike too late to intervene.
Global reaction was swift. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, European and Asian governments and several Arab states condemned the assault, while Palestinian Authority officials called it a “serious violation of international law and Qatar’s sovereignty.” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the strike “directly imperils” efforts to advance peace.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the action as a step that could “open the door to an end of the war in Gaza.”
The strike came hours after Israel ordered the full evacuation of Gaza City, where about a million people face famine conditions, ahead of a planned military takeover.
