Israel attempted to assassinate top Hamas leaders in Qatar on Tuesday, after large explosions were heard in the capital city of Doha, and smoke columns rose from the building targeted in the attack. A joint statement by the Israeli army and Israel’s internal intelligence agency confirmed that it was targeting Hamas’s senior leadership in a “precise strike.” The statement added that the targeted leaders were “directly responsible” for the October 7 attack and that “measures were taken in order to mitigate harm to civilians.”
Israeli media said that the strike targeted the office of the lead Hamas negotiator in the ongoing ceasefire talks, Khalil al-Hayya, in addition to other members of the negotiating team. Hamas politburo member Suheil al-Hindi told Al Jazeera on Tuesday evening that the negotiating team led by al-Hayya had survived “the cowardly assassination attempt.” Al-Hindi also told the Qatari news network that Hamas “will not raise the white flag.”
Al Jazeera reported that five “lower-ranked members were killed.”
The Israeli strike occurred as the Hamas negotiating team met to discuss the latest ceasefire proposal presented by U.S. President Donald Trump, al-Hindi told Al Jazeera.
The Qatari Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the attack, calling it “criminal” and “cowardly.” The Ministry added that Qatar “will not tolerate” attacks that “threaten the safety of Qatar’s citizens and residents.”
An unnamed White House official told AFP that the U.S. was notified in advance of Israel’s planned attack in Qatar.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the attack was a “wholly independent Israeli operation.”
“Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility,” the statement added.
The Israeli PM and Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said in a joint statement that they had given the green light to attack the Hamas leadership following a shooting attack in Jerusalem yesterday that left six Israelis dead. Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, had claimed responsibility for the shooting, which was carried out by two Palestinians from the West Bank towns of Qatanna and Qebeibeh.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the Israeli attack on the Qatari capital as a “flagrant violation of sovereignty.”
Targeting negotiators during ceasefire negotiations
The Israeli attack comes after Trump had put forward a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire that would see the release of all Israeli captives in the first 48 hours of the agreement. In exchange, negotiations to permanently end the war on Gaza would commence, with personal guarantees from the U.S. President that Israel would engage in the negotiations “in good faith.”
Trump’s proposal would also see Hamas relinquish control over Gaza and give up its arms. Hamas has repeatedly said that it is willing to relinquish control over the Strip and allow for an independent technocratic government to rule in its stead, but has maintained that disarming remains a “red line” for the group.
A previous ceasefire proposal last August was accepted by Hamas and awaited Israel’s approval, but Israel did not respond before Trump presented his most recent proposal.
The August proposal had included a 60-day ceasefire in which Israeli captives would be released in exchange for the release of 1,700 Palestinian prisoners, the entry of humanitarian aid, and the withdrawal of the Israeli army to specified areas at the edges of the Strip.
Continuous assassinations across the region
Last month, Israel killed 12 top officials in the Yemeni government, including Yemen’s Prime Minister, Ahmad al-Rahawi.
Since October 7, Israel has assassinated several top Hamas leaders in exile across the region, including Hamas’s previous politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and senior Hamas politburo member Saleh Aruri in Beirut.
Israel has also assassinated several top commanders of the al-Qassam Brigades, including its longtime commander, Muhammad al-Deif. Two weeks ago, Hamas confirmed the death of Deif’s successor, Muhammad Sinwar, the brother of Hamas’s slain Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by accident in October 2024 when he was struck by a tank shell during combat in Rafah.
At the end of August, Israel claimed to have assassinated Abu Obeida, the military spokesperson of the Qassam Brigades, in a strike on a residential building in Gaza City. Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied Abu Obeida’s fate.
Attempt to derail ceasefire negotiations ahead of Gaza City invasion
The attack on Doha comes as Israel continues to advance its offensive against Gaza City, levelling several high-rise buildings housing thousands of refugees, who were forced to leave the towers after receiving evacuation orders from the Israeli army. In recent weeks, the Israeli army’s offensive has flattened entire neighborhoods in eastern Gaza City, including the Shuja’iyya, Sabra, and Zeitoun neighborhoods.
The Israeli army has also dropped leaflets over the city ordering its entire population to evacuate to the overcrowded Mawasi area on the coast of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The Israeli army says its occupation of the city will last for at least a year.
The Palestinian Civil Defense said that if the invasion of the city proceeds as announced, it expects a daily casualty count of around 300 Palestinians.
One U.S. congressperson responds, for whatever it’s worth:
Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, issued the following statement on Tuesday in response to reports of an Israeli strike on Qatar:
“I unequivocally condemn Israel’s attack on Qatar, a neutral nation that has mediated peace talks for nearly two years between Israel and Hamas. This unprovoked attack on the nation of Qatar is a flagrant violation of international law that harms prospects for peace between Israel and Hamas and jeopardizes the return of Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity. Israel’s actions today are yet further evidence that the government of Prime Minister Netanyahu has become a destabilizing force in the Middle East.”
https://mccollum.house.gov/media/press-releases/statement-condemning-israels-illegal-strike-nation-qatar
Trump and David Barnea hosts another Red Wedding (*):
“…The whole point was to gather people together to discuss the peace offer to kill them…” Ryan Grim
“The strike in Doha was aimed at Hamas negotiators who were gathered to discuss Trump’s ceasefire offer, much as Trump carried out fake nuclear talks with Iran in order to kill Iranian negotiators. That might explain why Trump’s offer was so short and scant on details….” Ryan Grim
+ Michael Scaglione of the podcast “Two Doomed Men” said that if Grim’s suggested version of events is confirmed, US President Donald Trump “has now okayed more than one ‘Red Wedding’-style deception/manipulation under the pretext of negotiating.”
+ AlMayadeen, Mossad’s Barnea in Doha amid conflicting reports on purpose of visithttps://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/mossad-s-barnea-in-doha-amid-conflicting-reports-on-purpose
Some Days There’s Just Too Much Israeli Psychopathy To Write About
Caitlin Johnstone
Sep 09, 2025
“Recent hours have seen too much Israeli depravity to write about, including an assassination strike in Qatar to sabotage peace talks, a second drone attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla, and a Guardian article featuring an IDF sniper who discussed killing civilians like a trophy hunter talking about game animals.
The IDF bombed a Doha residential building on Tuesday in an attempt to assassinate Hamas officials who had gathered to discuss US-Israeli ceasefire proposals, reportedly killing a Qatari security officer and four Hamas aides, as well as the son of the acting Hamas political bureau chief.
President Trump publicly criticized the Israeli attack, but Middle East Eye reports that according to US and regional officials the president had actually “blessed” the strike in advance. These would be the same Hamas officials who Trump had just been aggressively threatening to accept his ceasefire proposal or face severe consequences.
Hamas said the following in a statement:
It’s hard to argue with any of this. Clearly nobody who’s calling the shots in Washington and Tel Aviv has any interest in actually ending this genocide. Which should surprise no one, since people who are committing genocide aren’t typically interested in negotiating ceasefire talks with their victims.
People really need to stop taking seriously the idea that Israel has any intention of ever agreeing to a ceasefire. They’ve made it clear that they’re not going to stop until they’ve kicked all the Palestinians out of Gaza and annexed it, and the Trump administration has made it clear they’re going to support this agenda. It’s time to start believing them.”
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/some-days-theres-just-too-much-israeli
These are the Hamas members responsible for the Jerusalem attack.