Hamas claims leaders survived Israeli attack in Doha, but confirms six deaths

The Palestinian armed group Hamas has said five of its members were killed in an Israeli air strike in Qatar’s capital, but claimed that an attempt to assassinate its negotiating team “failed”.

Hamas said the negotiating team was meeting to discuss the latest US proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip at a residential compound in Doha when it was badly damaged by a series of explosions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strike was “fully justified” because it targeted senior Hamas leaders who organised the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the Gaza war.

Qatar condemned the Israeli attack, calling it “cowardly” and a “flagrant violation of international law”.

The Gulf state’s interior ministry said one member of its Internal Security Force was killed and others were injured, without mentioning any Hamas casualties.

The White House said US President Donald Trump believed the incident was “unfortunate” but that eliminating Hamas was “a worthy goal”.

Qatar is a key US ally in the region that is the location of a major American air base.

It has hosted the Hamas political bureau since 2012, and has served along with the US and Egypt as a mediator in indirect negotiations between the group and Israel.

Witnesses in Doha said they heard as many as eight separate explosions on Tuesday afternoon, with plumes of smoke rising above the city’s northern Katara district.

The strike hit “residential buildings housing several members of the Political Bureau of Hamas”, according to Qatari authorities.

Within minutes, Israel said it was behind the blasts.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet internal security service said in a statement that they conducted “a precise strike targeting the senior leadership” of Hamas.

Later, Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli security forces had been ordered on Monday to prepare for a possible strike “after the murderous attacks in Jerusalem and Gaza” – a reference to the killing of six Israelis by two Palestinian gunmen at a bus stop in Jerusalem and the killing of four Israeli soldiers in an attack on an army camp in Gaza City.

“The prime minister and the defence minister believed that the action was fully justified given the fact that it was this Hamas leadership that initiated and organised the October 7 massacre, and – since then – has not ceased from launching murderous operations against the State of Israel and its citizens,” they added.

Israeli media reported that the operation involved 15 Israeli fighter jets, firing 10 munitions against a single target within a few seconds.

An Israeli official was cited as saying the Hamas members targeted included Khalil al-Hayya, the chief negotiator and exiled Gaza leader, and Zaher Jabarin, the exiled West Bank leader.

A Hamas statement denounced the Israeli strike as a “a heinous crime, a blatant aggression, and a flagrant violation of all international norms and laws”.

“We confirm the enemy’s failure to assassinate our brothers in the negotiating delegation,” it said, without providing any evidence.

The group named five members who it said were killed, including Khalil al-Hayya’s son, Humam, and Jihad Labad, the director of Hayya’s office.

“Targeting the negotiating delegation, as they discussed US President Donald Trump’s latest proposal, confirms beyond doubt that Netanyahu and his government do not want to reach any agreement and are deliberately seeking to thwart all opportunities and thwart international efforts,” it said.

Hamas also said it held the US administration “jointly responsible” for the attack because of its support for the Israeli military.

The White House said it was notified by the US military that Israel was attacking Hamas.

“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”

She added: “President Trump immediately directed special envoy Steve Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did.”

Afterwards, Trump spoke to Israel’s prime minister, who told him that “he wants to make peace and quickly”, according to Leavitt.

The president also spoke to the emir and prime minister of Qatar and “assured them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil”, she added.

The Israeli prime minister’s office earlier stressed that it was a “a wholly independent Israeli operation”. “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility,” it said.

Qatar’s government reacted with fury to Israel’s actions, saying: “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.”

Similar statements of outrage came from across the Arab world, with Saudi Arabia denouncing what it described as the “brutal Israeli aggression”.

UN Secretary General António Guterres also condemned the strike, saying it was a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar”.

He said Qatar had been “playing a very positive role to achieve a ceasefire and release of all hostages”, adding: “All parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said the strike was “unacceptable regardless of motive”, while UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned of the risk of “further escalation across the region” and called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.

Pope Leo XIV told journalists that “the entire situation is very serious”.

For the families of the 48 hostages still being held in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, the news triggered a fresh wave of desperate anxiety.

“I am shaking with fear,” Einav Zangauker, whose son, Matan, is among those in captivity, wrote on X.

“It could be that in these very moments the prime minister has actually assassinated my Matan. Why does he insist on blowing up any chance of a deal?”

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said he shared the families’ concerns.

“Hamas members deserve death,” he posted, “but at this point the Israeli government needs to explain how the IDF’s action will not lead to the killing of the hostages, and whether the risk to the hostages lives was taken into account.”

On Monday, Katz had warned Hamas leaders living abroad that they would be “annihilated” and Gaza “destroyed” if the group did not release its hostages and lay down its arms.

His remarks came a day after Hamas said its negotiating team was communicating with mediators about the latest US proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Trump said at the time that Israel had accepted his terms, without giving any details, and gave Hamas what he called a “last warning” to accept it too.

A Palestinian official told the BBC the US plan would see the hostages freed in the first 48 hours of a 60-day truce in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and good-faith negotiations on a permanent ceasefire.

Speaking to an audience at the US embassy in Jerusalem on Tuesday night, Netanyahu said the Israel’s action in Qatar could “open the door to an end of the war”.

He confirmed that Israel had accepted the US plan and urged the people of Gaza to follow suit, saying: “Stand up for your rights and for your future. Make peace with us.”

Israel has killed many top Hamas leaders over the past 23 months.

The group’s exiled political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed by an explosion at a guesthouse during a visit to Iran in July 2024.

Yahya Sinwar, who masterminded the 7 October attack and succeeded Haniyeh, was killed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza in October 2024.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 64,605 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.