Israel carried out an airstrike on a residential building in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday targeting senior Hamas officials who were meeting to discuss a U.S. ceasefire proposal, Palestinian and Qatari authorities said, an attack that analysts say makes a negotiated end to the Gaza war less likely.
Hamas said five people were killed and that senior figures including Khalil al-Hayya, the group’s exiled Gaza leader, and Khaled Mashaal, its head abroad, survived. Qatar’s interior ministry said one member of its internal security forces had been killed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly authorized the strike after a Palestinian gunman killed six people at a Jerusalem bus stop on Monday.
White House officials said U.S. officials were informed of the operation only after missiles had been launched. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told reporters that while eliminating Hamas is a worthy goal, “Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States ... does not advance Israel or America’s goals.” Leavitt also said President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had informed the Qatari government of the impending attack and that Trump assured Qatari leaders such an attack “will not happen again on their soil.” Netanyahu described the action as a "wholly independent Israeli operation."
Israeli officials have not publicly released details of the strike, and Israeli authorities did not immediately confirm civilian or militant casualties in Doha. Hamas said the leaders had been meeting to consider a ceasefire proposal promoted by the Trump administration; the attack occurred while negotiations were ongoing.
The strike came as Israel prepared for a fresh ground offensive in Gaza, ordering the full evacuation of Gaza City on Tuesday and announcing plans for an operation codenamed "Gideon’s Chariots II," a follow-up to last summer’s major ground campaign into the enclave. Israeli forces have also continued to demolish high-rise residential buildings they say are used as Hamas military positions.
Analysts said the attack signals Israel’s continued preference for a military defeat of Hamas rather than a negotiated settlement. Michael Koplow, chief policy officer at the Israel Policy Forum, said the strike made clear that the Israeli government remains committed to defeating Hamas militarily, undercutting diplomacy aimed at securing a hostage deal.
The strike rekindles long-standing tensions over Qatar’s role as a host for Hamas officials and a U.S. partner in the region. Qatar hosts the U.S. military’s largest regional facility, al-Udeid airbase, and has for years served as a Gulf interlocutor for talks with Hamas. That arrangement drew criticism from Israel and the United States at times but also provided a fixed address for negotiations.
Qatar has sought to balance relations across the region, maintaining ties with the United States and Gulf Cooperation Council states while also engaging with groups like Hamas and keeping lines open with Iran. The attack raised questions about whether that balance can protect Doha from being targeted when it hosts militant leaders.
The strike also complicates a renewed push by the Trump administration for a ceasefire that could include hostage releases. White House officials said they were working on diplomatic channels, and the administration had publicly described itself as engaged in talks with Hamas in recent days. Yet the apparent targeting of negotiators is likely to undermine confidence in those channels among regional actors and Hamas negotiators.
Within Israel, the operation drew both praise and concern. Some Israeli politicians welcomed the strike as a necessary blow to Hamas leadership. Families of hostages expressed mixed reactions; Einav Zangauker, the mother of an Israeli hostage, posted on X expressing fear that the operation could have killed her son.
The strike follows a period of heightened cross-border and regional tensions. Less than three months earlier, Iran launched missiles that struck U.S. forces in the region, and other states in the Middle East have been drawn into the broader conflict surrounding Israel’s campaign in Gaza. Analysts said the Doha strike could signal a willingness by Israel to carry out precision strikes outside its borders when it perceives a direct threat from Hamas leadership.
Diplomats and regional leaders are likely to reassess their readiness to host or mediate talks with Hamas after the attack, several analysts said, because the operation undermines the assumption that hosting negotiators offers protection. If states conclude they cannot guarantee safety for delegates, established negotiation channels could erode and reduce options for resolving the war or securing hostage releases.
International responses were cautious. The White House publicly distanced itself from the operation while underscoring longstanding U.S. objectives of degrading Hamas’s capabilities. Qatar condemned the strike and has summoned diplomatic clarifications, according to Qatari officials.
The Gaza war, now approaching its third year, has repeatedly reshaped regional diplomacy, and the Doha strike marks the latest escalation that may narrow the diplomatic options available to end the fighting or secure the release of hostages. With Israel preparing for intensified operations in Gaza and the United States pushing for negotiations, the attack in Doha has complicated a fragile and fast-moving diplomatic environment.
Further details about the strike, including independent confirmation of casualties and the full list of targets, remained limited as of Wednesday. International officials and analysts said they expected additional diplomatic fallout in the coming days as allies and regional partners react to an operation that brought the Gaza conflict directly onto Qatari soil.