Security footage captures the moment of an Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar. Photo / Getty Images
Israel’s defence minister vowed to continue attacks on its enemies “everywhere”, a day after its attempt to assassinate Hamas’s leaders in the Qatari capital, Doha, which appeared not to kill senior figures.
“The long arm of Israel will strike its enemies everywhere. There is no place where they can hide,” Israel Katz said in a post on X.
He added that if Hamas does not “accept Israel’s terms for ending the war … they will be destroyed, and Gaza will be levelled.”
The Israeli strike yesterday on the villa of Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya, who was leading indirect ceasefire negotiations with Israel, upended diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza and to free Israeli hostages.
In Gaza, starvation looms and local health authorities say that more than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed. The hostages have been held for almost two years in the enclave.
In a statement yesterday, Hamas said Hayya had survived the attack, which killed his son and the director of his office, as well as three bodyguards and an officer from Qatar’s Internal Security Forces.
“It once again reveals the criminal nature of the occupation and its desire to undermine any chances of reaching an agreement,” the statement said.
Israel is demanding that Hamas disarm and release all 50 remaining hostages - about 20 of them are believed to be still alive.
In the almost two years since Hamas led attacks in southern Israel, killing some 1200 people, Israel has vowed to hunt the militant group’s leaders in Gaza and abroad. In the space of four months last year, it assassinated leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif in Gaza, and Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Israel’s Army Radio reported today that senior Israeli security officials had voiced objections to the operation in Doha, where the Hamas leadership had gathered to discuss a new ceasefire proposal.
Several regional leaders were planning solidarity visits to Doha, including United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah, according to a Qatari official briefed on the visits who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, was scheduled to visit tomorrow, the official said.
The United Nations Security Council was due to hold an emergency session today to discuss the strike, said Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the UN.
The strike drew outrage from Qatar and criticism from Arab and some European countries, as well as United States President Donald Trump, whose Administration had recently put forward a new ceasefire proposal that Hamas was considering at the time of the strike.
“I’m not thrilled about the whole situation, not a good situation,” he told reporters in Washington, after the White House said that he had called Qatar’s Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to assure him that “such a thing will not happen again on their soil”. Qatar hosts the largest American military base in the Middle East.
On the ground in Gaza, Israel continued to push for the goals it had said it would pursue in the absence of a ceasefire.
Hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorised the airstrike, the Israeli military announced a sweeping evacuation order for all of Gaza City ahead of a ground campaign to capture the city.
In practice, this has meant levelling dozens of buildings, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries, and forcing the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to residents, medical workers, and relief officials.
Many Israelis critical of how Netanyahu has waged the war warned that this offensive could further jeopardise the lives of the hostages still held by Hamas and its allies.
“We are entering this campaign, continuing the battle. The only thing that can stop it is if they surrender - if they return the hostages and disarm,” Katz told military commanders and troops in Gaza today according to a readout from his office.
“Hamas is not only an enemy here - it is an enemy in Lebanon, in Syria, in Iran, and in other places as well.”
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