On September 9, Israel carried out its first-ever strike on Doha, saying the target was the top political leadership of Hamas. According to the IDF and Shin Bet, the attack hit a meeting place of the group’s leaders while consultations were underway on a US proposal for a ceasefire in غزة and the release of hostages.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the operation as an entirely independent Israeli decision. Donald Trump said he learned of the planned strike that same morning and ordered that Qatar be warned, but the message came only after explosions had already begun. At the same time, he stressed that the unilateral bombing of a sovereign US ally did not advance either Washington’s or Israel’s goals.
There is still no official confirmation that the main targets were killed. Hamas says its senior leaders survived and that five lower-ranking members of the movement and a Qatari security officer were killed instead. Their funerals were held in Doha on September 11 in the presence of Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Experts interviewed by Novaya Gazeta Europe say Israel had tracked Hamas leaders in Qatar for months and seized a rare moment when several figures gathered in one place. In their view, the strike may have complicated hostage negotiations, though it did not necessarily destroy them altogether.
Qatar, which mediates alongside Egypt, condemned the attack as a violation of its sovereignty. Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Netanyahu’s actions had destroyed hope for the hostages’ release. Regional powers and the UN also condemned the strike, calling it a blatant violation of Qatar’s territorial integrity.