For the first time in the Gaza war, Israel has struck inside the Persian Gulf.
Israel carried out an airstrike in the Qatari capital on Tuesday, targeting senior Hamas leaders gathered in a residential compound in Doha.
The strike killed six people, including a Qatari security officer, according to a statement released by Hamas.
The attack took place as the Hamas delegation was meeting to review a United States ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani called the strike “state terrorism” and said it “sabotages any attempt at peace.”
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, also criticized the operation. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social:
“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.”
Trump later confirmed that Washington learned of the attack from the U.S. military and notified Qatar only minutes after it had taken place.
“I feel very badly about the location of the attack,” he added, assuring Qatar’s leaders that “such a thing will not happen again on their soil.”
European leaders also condemned the strike. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it “violates Qatar’s sovereignty and risks further escalation.” Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide described it as a “serious violation of international law.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country acted “wholly independently” and argued that removing Hamas leaders abroad could “open the door for an end to the war and a better future for Gaza.”
Qatar has hosted Hamas’s political leadership for years and has served as the key Arab mediator in negotiations with Israel.
The strike in Doha marks the first Israeli attack in the Persian Gulf since the conflict began in October 2023.
Over the past two years, Israel has carried out operations that killed top figures of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iranian generals in Tehran and Damascus, and Houthi officials in Yemen. Tuesday’s attack extends this strategy into the territory of a U.S. ally for the first time.
The war in Gaza has entered its 705th day, with more than 60,000 Palestinians killed, including 18,500 children, according to figures from Gaza health authorities.
Hamas says Israeli hostages remain alive in Gaza, raising fears that the Doha strike could endanger them further.
Despite the attack, Qatar has stated it will “continue efforts to reach a diplomatic resolution” to the conflict.
