The Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) on Tuesday carried out a targeted strike against senior members of Hamas’ leadership in Doha, Qatar.
Those targeted had for years directed the Palestinian terror group’s operations, were directly responsible for the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and have been managing the ongoing war against Israel, according to an IDF statement.
The military said measures were taken to minimize civilian casualties, including the use of precision munitions. It added that efforts would continue with determination to defeat Hamas.
“Today’s action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation,” according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.”
Netanyahu provided further details of the operation the IDF named “Summit of Fire” in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz, saying that he instructed on Monday all security agencies to prepare for potential assassination attempts on Hamas leaders abroad following two Palestinian terrorist attacks — a shooting in Jerusalem that killed six people and a tank bombing in northern Gaza that killed four IDF soldiers.
“Today at noon, in light of an operational opportunity, and after consultation with all the heads of the security establishment and with complete backing, the prime minister and the defense minister decided to implement the directive given last night to the IDF and the Shin Bet, who carried it out with precision and professionalism,” the statement continued.
At a speech on Tuesday evening at an American Independence Day celebration hosted by the US Embassy in Jerusalem, and that was broadcasted live, Netanyahu said that he authorized the “surgical precision strike on the terrorist chiefs of Hamas,” who “planned, launched, and celebrated the horrific massacres of Oct. 7—the savage murder of 1,200 people; the beheading of men; the rape and murder of women; the burning of babies; the taking of over 250 hostages, including innocent hostages—grandmothers, grandchildren, Holocaust survivors.”
Later in the day, US President Donald Trump feels “very badly” about Israel’s strike on a Doha residence that housed a Hamas negotiating delegation earlier in the day.
“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,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
Trump stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to strike the Doha residence. “I immediately directed special envoy Steve Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did; however, unfortunately, too late to stop the attack,” Trump said.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said during a media briefing that the US military told Trump about a pending attack. She didn’t clarify how the US military learned of the attack.
Washington shares parts of its largest military base in the Middle East–located just outside Doha at Al-Udeid—with the Qataris. (Iran attacked the base in June, seemingly in a symbolic strike, after the United States bombed the regime’s nuclear facilities.)
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister, said that the message from a US official came about 10 minutes after the attack. The death toll remains unclear. Hamas says all members of its delegation survived, though some relatives, security and others were killed.
Trump stated that he spoke with Al Thani and the emir of Qatar and thanked them for their “support and friendship” and assured them “that such a thing will not happen again on their soil.”
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said at the start of the strike: “These are the terrorists whose entire aspiration was to be the spearhead for the destruction of the State of Israel — we will continue to carry out our mission everywhere, at every range, near and far, in order to to hold our enemies accountable.”
He continued: “Authorized. Proceed — eliminate the heads from the Hamas terrorist organization. We are settling a moral and ethical account on behalf of all the victims of Oct. 7. We will not rest and we will not be silent until we bring back our hostages and defeat Hamas.”
Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Israel’s minister for the development of the periphery, the Negev and the Galilee, told JNS that Jerusalem has demonstrated throughout the war its ability to eliminate its enemies.
“The message here is important—the Jewish people do not forget, and our foes are not protected anywhere and at any time,” he said. “The next step is to continue the planned operation to occupy Gaza [City], which will lead to the defeat of Hamas and the release of all the hostages.”
According to a report in Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya, top Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya was killed in the strike.
Other Hamas leaders abroad known to be based in Qatar include Khaled Mashaal, Zaher Jabarin, Mohammad Ismail Darwish, Mousa Abu Marzouk, Hussam Badran and Tahar Anunu.
“We are awaiting the results of the attack. There was a consensus in the political and security leadership,” a senior Israeli official told Channel 12.
A major explosion sent heavy smoke billowing near Hamas’ local headquarters, according to Arab media reports. The terror group’s negotiating team had reportedly been meeting there to discuss a US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of hostages.
The Qatar Foreign Ministry condemned the strike.
“The State of Qatar strongly condemns the cowardly Israeli attack that targeted residential buildings housing several members of the Political Bureau of Hamas in the Qatari capital,” wrote Majed Al Ansari, adviser to the prime minister and official spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry. “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.”
Israel got a greenlight from the Trump administration for the Doha operation.
“The party’s over,” Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli told JNS.
“The terror architects of the horrific massacre of innocents on October 7th, feasting in luxury hotels after inflicting unprecedented disaster upon their own people, are finally meeting justice,” he said.
“And a word to the Qatari crime family,” he added. “Those who sleep with dogs should not complain when they wake up with fleas.”
