Israel attempted to kill senior members of Hamas in an airstrike on Tuesday in Qatar, a sharp escalation that brought the Mideast war to a close U.S. ally and a primary mediator in trying to end the conflict in Gaza.
The Israeli strike on a Hamas meeting, where the group said its officials were discussing a cease-fire proposal backed by President Trump, threatened to undermine negotiations over the Gaza war. The direct attack on Qatar’s territory also risked antagonizing the Qatari government and destabilizing its diplomatic efforts in the war, particularly because the country’s political and economic stability hinges on its reputation as a haven for business and tourism in a volatile region.
Hamas said the Israeli strike had failed to kill senior officials in the group, without specifying whether they had sustained injuries. In a statement, the group confirmed that the son of Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s chief negotiator; his office manager; and three other people affiliated with Hamas had been killed in the attack.
But the strike killed a member of Qatar’s internal security forces and injured a number of civilians, the country’s Interior Ministry said.
