Israel conducted airstrikes against Hamas leaders in Qatar. “The explosion in Qatar’s capital of Doha is the result of an Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in the city, unnamed senior Israeli officials tell Hebrew media,” The Times of Israel reports Tuesday noon.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shortly afterward confirmed that a strike was carried out against senior Hamas terrorists responsible for the October 7 attack.
Media reports suggest strikes against multiple targets in Doha’s Qatara neighborhood. “Several blasts were heard in Qatar’s Doha on Tuesday,” Reuters reported, quoting eyewitnesses. According to the Associated Press, “Black smoke rose over the skyline of the Qatari capital, Doha, with authorities there acknowledging the strike.”
The Arab Gulf state of Qatar is home to top Hamas leadership outside Gaza. On October 7, 2023, Hamas leaders Khalil al-Hayya, Khaled Mashal, and others were seen celebrating the massacre at their Doha command center.
Top five Hamas leaders, including Al-Hayya and Mashal, were eliminated in the strike, initial Arab media reports says.
The Israel National News/Arutz Sheva reports:
Five senior Hamas officials, including the terrorist organization’s leader, Khaled Mashal, were at a meeting together in the Qatari capital of Doha when the IDF launched an airstrike targeting the meeting this afternoon (Tuesday), the Saudi Al Hadath network reported. Mashal and at least three other senior officials were reportedly killed in the airstrike.
The strike came nearly ten days after IDF chief of staff, Major-General Eyal Zamir, issued a warning to Hamas leadership hiding abroad. “This is not the end, most of Hamas’s leadership is abroad, and we will reach them as well,” the IDF chief warned shortly after the elimination of senior Hamas terrorist Abu Obeida in Gaza.
Without mentioning Qatar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the decision to strike against Hamas leaders was Israel’s alone, dispelling media speculations regarding the United States’ role.
“Today’s action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation,” the statement said. “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke about today’s strike at a U.S. event:
Prime Minister Netanyahu was at the Shin Bet’s headquarters at the time of the strike, the BBC reported:
Israel’s security agency Shin Bet says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at the department’s headquarters when the Hamas delegation was struck in Doha, Qatar.The attack against “the top leadership” of Hamas was coordinated between the agency and Israel’s military, a spokesperson for Shin Bet says.Defence Minister Israel Katz, the security agency’s deputy chief and the head of military intelligence were also present at the headquarters, they add.
The strike was in response to Monday’s Hamas-backed terror attack in which six people were gunned down by terrorists in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office disclosed in a separate statement:
Yesterday, after the murderous attacks in Jerusalem and Gaza, Prime Minister Netanyahu directed all security elements to prepare for the possibility of striking the Hamas leadership. The Defense Minister fully supported this initiative.This afternoon, in light of an operational opportunity, and in consultation with all security establishment heads, and with full backing, the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister decided to implement the directive that was given last night to the IDF and the ISA, which did so with precision and in an optimal manner.The Prime Minister and the Defense Minister believed that the action was fully justified given the fact that it was this Hamas leadership that initiated and organized the October 7 massacre, and – since then – has not ceased from launching murderous operations against the State of Israel and its citizens, including taking responsibility for the murder of our citizens in yesterday’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem.
The operation was jointly conducted by the IDF and Israel Security Agency (ISA), also known as Shin Bet. The IDF disclosed the details of the strike in a statement:
The IDF and ISA conducted a precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization.For years, these members of the Hamas leadership have led the terrorist organization’s operations, are directly responsible for the brutal October 7th massacre, and have been orchestrating and managing the war against the State of Israel.Prior to the strike, measures were taken in order to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and additional intelligence.The IDF and ISA will continue to operate with determination in order to defeat the Hamas terrorist organization responsible for the October 7th massacre.
Israel may have conferred with President Donald Trump ahead of the operation. “Israeli media reported Donald Trump “gave the green light” for these strikes, which Israel says targeted Hamas leadership,” Sky News (UK) reported.
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