Israel carries out attack targeting Hamas leadership in Qatari capital

Israel has carried out an attack on the Hamas leadership in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday, Euronews has learned.

Israeli officials confirmed the strike targeted senior Hamas officials, further widening its campaign against the militant group in an operation dubbed "Summit of Fire".

“Today’s action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation,” the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on social media.

“Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility," the statement added.

Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement on Tuesday that the green light for the strike was issued after the gunmen on Monday attacked a bus stop in Jerusalem, killing six people and injuring others.

“(Netanyahu and Katz) believed the operation was fully justified, given that this Hamas leadership was the one that initiated and organised the 7 October massacre,” the statement said, “and has since continued to carry out murderous attacks against Israel and its citizens, including taking responsibility for the murder of our civilians in yesterday’s attack in Jerusalem.”

It is unclear whether there were any casualties among Hamas' leadership at this time. However, initial unconfirmed reports say that all four members of the Hamas Political Bureau — the group's main decision-making body — were either killed in the strike or remain unaccounted for.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry confirmed the strike hit residential buildings housing several members of the Hamas Political Bureau.

The ministry "strongly condemned" the attack on its soil and "reckless Israeli behaviour" in a statement on X, saying "investigations are under way at the highest level" and that "further details will be announced as soon as they are available."

A member of Qatari security forces was killed and others were wounded in the attack, the Interior Ministry said later on Tuesday.

White House: Eliminating Hamas 'a worthy goal'

Meanwhile, the White House said that Washington was aware of Israel striking Hamas, which, according to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, "very unfortunately was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar."

Upon receiving this information, US President Donald Trump “immediately directed” Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to tell Doha about the Israeli attack, Leavitt said.

“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” Leavitt told journalists at a press conference on Tuesday.

“However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres "condemned" what he said was a "flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar" at a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York.

“All parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it," Guterres added.

It was not immediately clear how the strike was carried out, although an Israeli military spokesperson said it involved the Israeli air force.

Eyewitnesses reported hearing several explosions and seeing smoke rising over the Katara district in the north of the city.

The US Embassy in Qatar said that it had “instituted a shelter-in-place order for their facilities" and has advised its citizens to shelter in place as well. The Qatari military has been activated since the strikes, Euronews has learned.

This is the second time the energy-rich Gulf nation has come under attack this year, after Iran fired missiles at the Al Udeid base during the Israel-Iran conflict in late June.

Hamas' top leaders mostly live outside of Gaza. Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated by Israeli agents in Tehran in July 2024, had mainly resided in Qatar since he left the Strip in 2017.