The Israeli army said Tuesday that its air force struck senior Hamas leadership in Qatar, prompting reports of explosions in Doha and claims from the Palestinian group that negotiators were targeted during talks on a proposed U.S. ceasefire.
Saudi broadcaster Al-Arabiya and other regional media cited sources saying the attack struck what they described as Hamas headquarters while discussions on a U.S. ceasefire proposal were under way. Arab media reports named several senior officials — including Khalil al-Hayya, Zaher Jabarin, Khaled Mashal, Nizar Awadallah and Mousa Abu Marzook — as having been targeted, and Al-Arabiya reported that Khalil al-Hayya was killed. The Israeli military described the strike as "precise," saying it was aimed at senior Hamas leadership in Qatar.
The strike and the identity of those affected were reported amid renewed scrutiny of the finances and lifestyles of top Hamas figures who, according to a range of Western and regional sources, have lived for years outside Gaza in countries including Qatar, Turkey and elsewhere. Israel's embassy in Washington has repeatedly asserted that senior Hamas officials have amassed significant personal wealth; it has said the group generates as much as $1 billion a year and described Hamas as among the world's wealthiest designated terror organisations.
Public reporting and government statements have produced varying estimates of individual fortunes and the group's external holdings. German tabloid Bild and other outlets have published profiles suggesting senior figures such as former political leader Ismail Haniyeh and former political bureau chief Khaled Mashal accumulated large assets and maintained an international lifestyle. U.S. and European measures have treated parts of Hamas's financial network as subject to sanctions: in May 2022 the U.S. Treasury cited an Investment Office tied to Hamas as overseeing assets it estimated at more than $500 million and penalised individuals and facilitators linked to that network.
Analysts and reporting point to multiple revenue sources. The Council on Foreign Relations and other observers say Hamas has collected taxes and fees on goods entering Gaza — including through tunnels and other informal routes that bypass official crossings — and has benefited from donations and patronage from states and private benefactors in the region. Iran, which describes itself as a backer of Palestinian armed groups, has been estimated by some analysts to provide roughly $100 million a year in support to Hamas and allied organisations; Qatar and Turkey have also provided funds and political backing, while international aid to Gaza is routed through United Nations agencies and the Palestinian Authority.
The contrast between those reports of leadership wealth and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has long fuelled political and public debate. Gaza's population, estimated at about 2.3 million people, has experienced severe deterioration in living conditions since the outbreak of large-scale hostilities following Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The World Health Organization said in July that nearly 12,000 children under five were identified with acute malnutrition. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has warned that more than half a million people in Gaza face conditions described as an "entirely man-made" famine with risks of "starvation, destitution and death." Israel has disputed the IPC's characterization and has accused Hamas of diverting aid and resources.
Hamas has been the de facto governing authority in Gaza since winning elections in 2006 and later seizing full control of the territory. It runs public services including health care and social services, and its military wing has continued to operate and carry out attacks against Israel, according to Israeli and Western officials. Israeli authorities and some outside observers have accused Hamas of prioritising armed capabilities — including tunnel construction and weapons procurement — over civilian infrastructure, and of placing military assets in population centres, allegations the group rejects.
Leaders of Hamas have not uniformly responded to questions about governance and protection of civilians. In 2023, Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official living abroad, was quoted as saying the group's political bureau was not responsible for protecting Gaza's civilians during Israeli bombardment and that other actors, including the United Nations and Israel under international law, bore responsibility. Israeli officials have cited such statements alongside their claims that Hamas diverts funds and uses the population as shields to argue that the group is failing the people of Gaza.
Investigations, sanctions and journalistic inquiries into the group's finances have yielded disparate findings. Media outlets have published varying estimates of individual net worths for senior figures; German daily Welt am Sonntag reported documents indicating a financial empire outside Gaza worth nearly $750 million, while outlets such as i24News and Bild have published higher estimates for some leaders. Corporate filings and financial reporting for companies linked to individuals on sanction lists have shown limited, though often opaque, profits; Turkey-based Trend GYO reported a modest profit in 2022 and has attracted scrutiny because of alleged links to Hamas-affiliated networks.
Humanitarian agencies and rights groups say responsibility for civilian protection and relief in Gaza requires both unimpeded humanitarian access and political measures to end hostilities. The IPC and U.N. agencies have repeatedly called for scaled-up aid deliveries and for deconfliction measures to protect civilians, while Israel and some Western governments have linked the delivery and control of aid to security concerns and to efforts to prevent diversion to armed groups.
The reported strike in Doha is likely to intensify diplomatic and legal debates over cross-border operations, the status of political and negotiating delegations abroad, and the practical links between wartime conduct and the civilian suffering in Gaza. Governments and international organisations are continuing to monitor the situation, and inquiries into the immediate consequences of the reported strike and its human toll were under way Tuesday evening.