Smoke billowing after explosions in Doha’s capital Qatar (Ideogram.io photo)
Israel has conducted a strike against senior Hamas leadership in Doha, Qatar, according to posts by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Qatari Foreign Ministry.
“The IDF and ISA [Israel Security Agency] conducted a precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization,” the IDF said in a statement on X, without confirming the location of the attack.
“For years, these members of the Hamas leadership have led the terrorist organization’s operations, [they] are directly responsible for the brutal October 7 massacre, and have been orchestrating and managing the war against the State of Israel,”
The IDF said that measures were taken before the strike to “mitigate harm to civilians.”
Minutes later, Qatari spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Majed Al-Ansari issued a statement on X condemning an Israeli attack on Doha and announcing that an investigation into the strike was underway.
“The State of Qatar condemns in the strongest terms the cowardly Israeli attack that targeted residential headquarters housing several members of the political bureau of the movement in the Qatari capital, Doha,” he wrote.
“This criminal assault constitutes a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms, and a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office also issued a statement on the strike via his personal X account, saying the action “was a wholly independent Israeli operation.”
“Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility,” it read.
Qatar, alongside Egypt, has been mediating between Hamas and Israel as part of efforts to bring the ongoing war in Gaza to an end.
The U.S. Embassy in Doha has issued a shelter-in-place order for all its facilities and urged American citizens in the country to do the same, as well as to monitor its X account for updates.
