Regional Crisis Israel Targets Hamas Leaders in Qatar Strike, Raising Fears for Ceasefire Talks 2025

Israel launches a daring strike in Qatar, targeting top Hamas leadership. The attack marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict. Details are emerging.

Israel Targets Hamas Leadership in Strike on Qatar

Israel carried out a rare and historic strike targeting senior Hamas figures in Doha, a city that has played a central role in mediating Gaza ceasefire negotiations. The attack has cast fresh uncertainty over ongoing hostage talks.

According to Hamas, five of its members were killed in the strike, though its negotiation team escaped unharmed. Authorities confirmed that one local security officer also lost his life during the incident.

The move drew swift international reaction. U.S. President Donald Trump voiced concern, calling the development “not a good situation” and promising a detailed statement on Wednesday.

Doha’s leadership sharply condemned the assault, with the prime minister denouncing it as “state terrorism” and warning of severe repercussions for regional diplomacy.

Pakistan condemns Israeli aggression against Qatar

Pakistan denounces Israel’s strike in Doha, calling it a violation of sovereignty and pledging full solidarity with Qatar and its leadership.

News Report:
Pakistan has strongly condemned Israel’s recent strike in Doha, describing it as a reckless act that violates sovereignty, international law, and the UN Charter.

In a statement, the Foreign Office labeled the assault on Hamas leadership as “profoundly provocative and illegal,” affirming complete solidarity with Doha during what it called an hour of need. “This senseless action is yet another reflection of Israel’s disregard for global peace and security,” the statement said, urging the international community to hold Israel accountable.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif also voiced strong criticism of the attack, which struck a residential area and endangered civilian lives. Posting on his official X account, he extended condolences to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the royal family, and the people of Doha.

Calling the strike “heinous and unlawful,” the prime minister warned it posed a grave threat to regional stability. He reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering support for Doha’s sovereignty and emphasized that Islamabad continues to stand by the people of Palestine against Israeli aggression.

Hamas leader reveals to Al Jazeera TV that top Hamas leaders survived Israel’s attack on Doha

The attack killed one of Hamas’s exiled Gaza chiefs’ sons, Khalil al-Hayya.

Israel mounted a daring attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar on Tuesday, broadening its military activities that have ranged across the Middle East to include the Gulf Arab state, where the Palestinian movement has had its political hub.

Qatar, which has been a mediator together with Egypt during negotiations on a ceasefire in the nearly two-year conflict in Gaza, declared the attack as “cowardly” and a blatant breach of international law.

Reuters was informed by two Hamas sources that Hamas representatives within the negotiating team on the ceasefire escaped the attack.

Israeli officials informed Reuters that the attack was directed against senior Hamas leaders such as Khalil al-Hayya, its Gaza exiled chief and senior negotiator.

Several blasts were heard in Qatar’s Doha, Reuters witnesses said. Plumes of black smoke were billowing from the city’s Legtifya petrol station. Next door to the petrol station is a small residential compound that has been guarded by Qatar’s emiri guard 24 hours a day since the beginning of the Gaza conflict.

Ambulances and at least 15 police and unmarked government vehicles swarmed the roads surrounding the site of the blast an hour after the attack.

Israel has murdered several key Hamas officials since the movement attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 and holding 251 hostage, based on Israeli counts.

Israel has also launched air strikes and other military operations in Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen during the Gaza war.

It attacked Lebanon’s well-armed Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis by carrying out air strikes against them. Both of these organizations have targeted Israel during the Gaza war.

It has been confirmed to Reuters that Israel had launched an attack against Hamas leaders in Qatar. Al Jazeera television in Qatar reported, based on a Hamas source, that the attack targeted Hamas Gaza ceasefire negotiators.

The attack is likely to be a serious, possibly mortal, blow to attempts at achieving a ceasefire, particularly given that it occurred in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, which has been the host to multiple rounds of negotiations.