Israel launched an attack aimed at assassinating Hamas leaders in Qatar Tuesday morning — just as they met for cease-fire talks in Doha — triggering a diplomatic headache for the Trump administration.
Several blasts were heard erupting in the capital, with plumes of black smoke seen billowing in the sky.
It was not immediately clear if any of the terror group’s leaders were killed in the strike. Hamas claimed that five people were dead, but that Israel failed “to assassinate our brothers in the negotiating delegation.”
“However, eliminating Hamas, who has profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
Leavitt said the president “feels very badly” about the strike and spoke to both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani following the attack.
Trump also promised Al Thani he would make sure that such an attack would never happen again, Leavitt added.
One US official claimed that Trump had tried to reach Israeli officials once he learned about the plan, but the attack had already been launched before they could connect, Axios reported.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said Doha had not been made warned of the attack ahead of time.
Axios reported that Trump ordered his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to tell Qatar about the Israeli warplanes — but the message didn’t reach the Gulf monarchy of 3.1 million people until after the explosions hit.
The attack was primarily targeted at killing Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’ top Gaza official and lead negotiator, a senior Israeli official told local media outlets.
Al-Hayya’s son, Himam, was among those who were killed in the strike, Hamas said in a statement.
A Qatari security officer who was guarding the offices where Hamas officials gathered was also killed in the blast, Doha said.
“Today’s action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation,” Netanyahu said following the attack.
“Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility,” he added.
Netanyahu’s office said that the decision to conduct the strike was made after Hamas claimed responsibility for Monday’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem, where two Palestinians from the West Bank opened fire on a bus stop, killing six people.
Al-Hayya and his delegation were in Qatar to hash out the terms of a cease-fire deal with Israel that has remained frozen for months.
Qatar, which has been mediating the talks, condemned the Israeli attack as “cowardly,” describing an attack on negotiators as a flagrant violation of international law.
A senior Qatari official told Israeli media that the Hamas delegation had recently received a new cease-fire proposal from Witkoff and had been discussing the terms with Al Thani on Monday.
“However, as has happened before, the Israelis undermined hopes for peace, further prolonging the war and complicating efforts to bring back the hostages,” the Qatari official said in a statement.
Qatar acts as the home base for Hamas’ political leaders — where they live in luxury while directing Gazans to continue the war of attrition against Israel.
Prior to the war, leaders of the terror group’s politburo were documented living in high-end homes in Qatar, attending their diplomatic club, photographed on private jets and even attending the 2022 soccer World Cup.
Before his assassination last year, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was seen living the high life in luxury hotels in Qatar and Turkey with his family.
Haniyeh and his fellow leaders were at one point estimated to be worth $11 billion, with the group accused of using their wealth from Doha and wealthy backers to finance payroll and kickback schemes to maintain their control of Gaza, according to the DC-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
Doha is also one of America’s key allies in the Middle East, housing the US military’s largest air base in the region.
The US Embassy in Qatar issued a “shelter-in-place order” for its facilities following the strikes in the capital.
“We have seen reports of missile strikes occurring in Doha,” the embassy wrote on X. “US citizens are advised to shelter-in-place and monitor @USEmbassyDoha social media for updates.”
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also condemned the strike in Doha, warning that it undermines months of work in trying to reach a diplomatic end to the war in Gaza.
The attack also sparked outrage from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who said his kingdom is “deploying all its capabilities” to support Qatar.
The attack on Qatar’s capital comes two days after Trump issued a “last warning” to Hamas to release the remaining 48 hostages in Gaza — 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
“I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. “This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”
An Israeli senior defense official told local outlets that the strike on Doha was a means to end the 23-month war in Gaza and rescue the hostages, the Times of Israel reported.
He also claimed that it was a signal for the Palestinian refugees in Gaza to rebel against Hamas and end the fighting.
Hamas had previously accepted the terms of a Qatari- and Egyptian-backed deal to free 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 other captives in exchange for a 60-day cease-fire.
Israel had rejected the deal, saying it would only accept a deal to free all the hostages at once.
Netanyahu also rejected terms to negotiate a permanent peace, reiterating that the war will only end once Hamas is destroyed.
With Post wires.
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