Israel Strikes Hamas Leadership As Explosions Hit Qatar’s Capital

The Israeli military, on Tuesday said, it had carried out a “precise strike” targeting senior Hamas leaders, shortly after explosions were reported in Doha, the Qatari capital city, where the group’s political bureau is based.

“The IDF (Israeli military) and ISA (security agency) conducted a precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organisation,” the military announced, without confirming the exact location of the strike.

AFP correspondents in Doha reported blasts hitting a Hamas compound in the city.

According to Israel, the targeted leaders “for years … have led the terrorist organisation’s operations, are directly responsible for the brutal October 7 (2023) massacre, and have been orchestrating and managing the war against the State of Israel.”

The strike comes less than two weeks after Israel’s armed forces chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, vowed to pursue Hamas leaders based abroad. “Most of Hamas’s leadership is abroad, and we will reach them as well,” he declared on August 31.

Reacting to the attack, Israel’s Culture Minister Miki Zohar wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “May all your enemies perish, Israel.”

The development threatens to further complicate ongoing ceasefire negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. Despite two temporary truces during the nearly two-year war in Gaza, efforts to secure a lasting peace have repeatedly collapsed.

Hamas, however, signaled fresh willingness on Sunday to resume talks, saying it was ready to “immediately sit at the negotiating table” following what it described as “some ideas from the American side aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement.”

US President Donald Trump also on Sunday issued a stern message to the group, saying he was delivering a “last warning” and insisting that Hamas must accept a deal to release the hostages taken during the October 2023 assault that ignited the war.