Hamas says its leadership survived Israeli strike on Qatar
Palestinian militant group Hamas has claimed the Israeli attack on its compound in the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday was largely unsuccessful and that its top members survived.
However, the attack did kill the son of Khalil al-Hayya, the group’s political bureau head, as well as a senior aide, according to Suhail al-Hindi, a senior Hamas member. Three bodyguards of the group’s leader remain unaccounted for after the strikes, he told Al Jazeera.
“The blood of the leadership of the movement is like the blood of any Palestinian child,” al-Hindi stated.
The “heinous” Israeli attack was an “attempt to kill those discussing ending the war on Gaza,” he added, corroborating earlier reports that the group’s leadership was hit when it had gathered to discuss the latest US proposals on settling the conflict with Israel.
According to Israeli media reports, some 15 aircraft were involved in the attack, firing more than ten high-precision munitions into the Hamas compound. Israel has insisted the attack was a unilateral action and that no other party was involved in striking “the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization.”
Multiple Israeli media reports, however, suggested that West Jerusalem notified Washington of the impending action ahead of the strike. Moreover, Israeli Channel 12 reported, citing an unnamed official, that US President Donald Trump had given the green light for the attack.
The White House described the Israeli attack as an “unfortunate” incident, with spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stating the strike at the heart of Qatar, a “close ally” of the US, “does not advance Israel or America’s goals.”
Qatar, which is designated a “major non-NATO ally” of the US, has condemned the “cowardly Israeli attack,” describing the location affected by the strike as “residential buildings housing several members of the political bureau of the Hamas movement.” The country’s Foreign Ministry has denied reports it had any prior knowledge of the attack, stating it received no notification either from Israel or US.
Later in the day, the Qatari Interior Ministry said at least one security officer had been killed and others injured while responding at the site of the attack.
