- Reportedly, both Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al-Hayya were killed in a strike by IDF on Qatar soil.
Doha, September 9, 2025 (Agencies) – Israel has confirmed carrying out a targeted strike on senior Hamas leaders in Qatar’s capital, Doha, in what marks the first such attack on the Gulf state, a key mediator in ongoing Gaza ceasefire negotiations. Multiple explosions were reported across the city, with plumes of black smoke rising from the Legtifya district, near a petrol station and residential compounds guarded by Qatar’s Emiri Guard.
According to a Hamas source cited by Al Jazeera, the attack occurred while a Hamas negotiating team was discussing a U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal. The Israeli military said the operation, conducted jointly by the IDF Air Force and Shin Bet, targeted leaders “directly responsible” for the October 7, 2023 attacks and for directing the ongoing war against Israel. Israeli media named Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief and top negotiator, among the intended targets.
In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the strike was “a wholly independent Israeli operation” and that Israel “takes full responsibility.” Opposition leader Yair Lapid praised the attack as an “exceptional operation.”
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned what it called a “cowardly Israeli attack” on residential buildings housing members of Hamas’s political bureau, describing it as a “flagrant violation of international law” and a “serious threat” to the security of Qataris and residents. The ministry vowed that Qatar “will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behaviour” and confirmed that security forces and civil defence teams were working to secure the area.
The United Arab Emirates declared “full solidarity” with Qatar, with senior adviser Anwar Gargash stating that “the security of the Arab Gulf states is indivisible.” The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Iran also condemned the strike, calling it a dangerous escalation and a breach of sovereignty.
Eyewitnesses reported that the targeted area is a high-security residential zone housing foreign embassies, schools, and civilians. The U.S. Embassy in Doha issued a shelter-in-place advisory to American citizens, describing the incident as a missile strike.
American military officials in the region told Al Jazeera they were not informed of the attack beforehand and could not confirm whether the White House had prior knowledge. Analysts warned the strike could derail fragile ceasefire negotiations, with Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara calling it “gangster behaviour” that undermines diplomacy.
The forum for talks in Doha had been seen as a critical channel for advancing a U.S.-mediated ceasefire and hostage exchange deal. The attack’s timing—during active negotiations—has drawn sharp criticism from across the Arab world and beyond.
No official casualty figures have been released, and Hamas has not confirmed whether any of its leaders were killed or injured. Qatar has launched a high-level investigation into the incident.