The daring strike in Doha, Qatar by 10 Israeli fighter jets armed with precision munitions seems to have registered only a partial success, if one relies on Hamas sources. But Israeli sources continue to believe that the top echelon, the A-List, was also eliminated. In any case, it was a dramatic and impressive demonstration of Israel’s reach and power. A lesson that will not be soon forgotten.
This early afternoon, Israel carried out a missile strike in Doha, Qatar, aimed squarely at the foreign command structure of Hamas. The attack marked the first time the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had conducted an operation inside a Gulf capital, breaking through what many had believed were untouchable boundaries of diplomacy and geography.
The strike targeted a meeting of Hamas political leaders in an office building in central Doha. Reports from the scene indicated that the structure itself was not destroyed. Smoke billowed from several floors, glass was shattered, and vehicles nearby were damaged, but the building remained standing. The use of precision-guided missiles reflected a deliberate Israeli choice: hit the leadership while minimizing civilian casualties and avoiding wholesale destruction in the heart of the Qatari capital.
Netanyahu’s Statement: Israel Acts Alone
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office immediately confirmed that the strike was an Israeli initiative from start to finish. “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility,” the statement declared. Netanyahu presented the operation as a direct and just response to a deadly Hamas shooting in Jerusalem that had taken place only hours before the strike.
For Netanyahu, the symbolism was critical. In recent weeks he had faced pressure from Washington and from within Israel’s own security establishment to consider American proposals for a phased ceasefire. By striking Hamas leaders in Doha, Netanyahu made it clear that Israel would not limit itself to negotiation rooms. The message to Hamas and to Israel’s allies alike was that the Jewish state retains absolute freedom of action when it comes to its security.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reinforced the prime minister’s position, telling reporters that Hamas operatives could no longer expect safe haven abroad. “There are no sanctuaries for murderers,” he said. “If you plan or finance terror against Israelis, whether in Gaza, Beirut, Istanbul, or Doha, you are within our reach.”
Who Was Targeted and What Was Hit
Among those at the top of Israel’s list was Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s deputy political chief, often described as the group’s foreign minister. He has long served as a critical link between the Hamas leadership in Gaza and their international patrons. Israeli intelligence believes he was the driving force behind Hamas’s attempts to stir unrest in Judea and Samaria and to coordinate with Iran.
Alongside him were senior Hamas figures such as Zaher Jabarin, in charge of West Bank operations, and Muhammad Ismail Darwish, a key financial operative. Reports placed Khaled Mashal, the former head of Hamas’s political bureau, in Doha at the time of the strike, though he appears to have escaped unscathed. That is still unclear and not confirmed. Some sources have reported up to 17 killed in the strike, but Hamas has deniied that senior leaders were eliminated. However, Hamas often waits days, weeks or even months, to confirm deaths, as occurred most recently with Yaya Sinwar, whose death was confirmed only last week.
Local sources report six people were killed, including Himam al-Hayya, the son of Khalil al-Hayya, as well as Jihad Labad, his office director. Three Hamas bodyguards died, along with a Qatari security officer stationed at the building. Hamas confirmed those deaths but insisted that its top echelon survived. The outcome underscored the precision of the strike: a surgical hit that killed close aides but left the principal leaders alive, at least for now.
American Reaction: An “Unfortunate” Incident
In Washington, the White House struggled to balance alliance with Israel against strategic ties with Qatar. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the strike “unfortunate” and said it did not advance regional peace. She reminded reporters that “Qatar is a strong ally and friend of the United States” and added that the administration would work to ensure “this does not happen again on Qatari soil.”
At the same time, senior officials acknowledged privately that the U.S. had been notified in advance of the operation. The disclosure suggested that Washington was not blindsided, but it nevertheless emphasized that the strike had complicated American-led efforts to broker a ceasefire.
Arab and Regional Condemnation
From across the Arab and Islamic world, the condemnation was nearly unanimous. Qatar called it a “cowardly Israeli strike” and denounced it as a violation of sovereignty and international law. Iran, already Hamas’s primary backer, described it as “an unprovoked act of war.” Egypt condemned the attack for undermining fragile ceasefire negotiations.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates all issued statements blasting the strike. Pakistan and Turkey joined in as well. Both the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council characterized it as a breach of international norms and demanded accountability.
The United Nations Secretary-General added his voice, calling the strike “a flagrant violation” of Qatar’s sovereignty and warning that such actions risked dragging the region into deeper conflict.
Israeli Media and Analyst Framing
Inside Israel, however, the mood was strikingly different. The strike was widely hailed as a demonstration of daring, precision, and resolve. Commentators in Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel Hayom, no fans of Netanyahu or the government, pointed out that the operation marked a dramatic expansion of Israel’s operational theater. “If Hamas leaders cannot find safety in Doha,” one wrote, “then no capital in the Middle East can be considered beyond Israel’s reach.”
Military correspondents emphasized that the strike did not need to kill Khalil al-Hayya outright to be effective. By eliminating his son, his aide, and his security detail, Israel had shattered the protective bubble around him. “Hamas’s foreign leadership has been forced to confront its own mortality,” an analyst told Channel 12. “From this day forward, they will live in fear.”
Others noted the psychological value. The very fact that Israel dared to fire missiles into a Gulf capital, without destroying the building and without causing mass casualties, signaled a new level of surgical capability. It was a message to Hamas, to Hezbollah, and to Iran: Israel can strike anywhere, at any time, with clinical precision.
Ceasefire Talks and Strategic Implications
The timing of the strike could not have been more deliberate. At the very moment missiles hit the building in Doha, American and Qatari mediators were working with Hamas leaders on a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal. Israel’s operation shattered that process, at least temporarily.
Netanyahu has long argued that Hamas uses negotiations as cover, never intending to honor ceasefire agreements. By striking in Doha, he underscored his government’s conviction that only military pressure, not diplomacy, can force Hamas to release hostages and cease its war of terror.
Some Israeli analysts framed the attack as the opening salvo in a new doctrine of deterrence. Instead of confining strikes to Gaza or occasionally to Lebanon and Syria, Israel is now signaling that the geographic limits are gone. If Hamas leaders live comfortably in hotels and villas abroad, those too can become targets.
The Missed Kill and What It Means
Critics pointed out that despite the bravado, the strike did not kill al-Hayya or Mashal. Hamas quickly circulated images of the two alive, vowing to continue their struggle. Supporters of Netanyahu responded that eradication is not always measured in a single strike. By killing close aides and family members, Israel had inflicted a wound on Hamas leadership that will fester long after the smoke clears.
More importantly, the operation destroyed the illusion of immunity. “Hamas’s foreign bureau has always believed it was beyond Israel’s reach,” an Israeli commentator wrote in Maariv. “That belief is gone forever. Whether they survived or not, they now live as hunted men.”
Conclusion
The Doha strike will be remembered less for the number of leaders killed and more for its audacity and precision. Netanyahu’s government demonstrated a willingness to strike in the heart of the Gulf, to risk diplomatic isolation, and to derail ceasefire talks, all in pursuit of Israel’s security.
The building in Doha still stands, its exterior scarred but intact. The Hamas leadership technically survived, but the organization’s foreign command suffered a blow in blood, morale, and credibility. Israel has redrawn the map of deterrence, sending a message that no corner of the region can shield those who orchestrate attacks on its people.
Did Israel eradicate Hamas’s foreign leadership in one strike? Not entirely, it seems. But it did something perhaps more consequential: it ended the era in which Hamas leaders could travel and operate abroad as though immune from Israeli power. That change, more than any single death, may reshape the conflict for years to come.
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