Israeli strike in Qatar targets Hamas leaders as they weigh Gaza
ceasefire proposal
[September 10, 2025]
By JOSEF FEDERMAN and JON GAMBRELL
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Israel struck the headquarters of Hamas' political
leadership in Qatar on Tuesday as the group's top figures gathered to
consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The strike
on the territory of a U.S. ally marked a stunning escalation and risked
upending talks aimed at winding down the war and freeing hostages.
The attack angered Qatar, an energy-rich Gulf nation hosting thousands
of American troops that has served as a key mediator between Israel and
Hamas throughout the 23-month-old war and even before. It condemned what
it referred to as a “flagrant violation of all international laws and
norms" as smoke rose over its capital, Doha. Other key U.S. allies in
the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, promised their
support to Qatar.
Hamas said in a statement its top leaders survived the strike but that
five lower-level members were killed, including the son of Khalil al-Hayya
— Hamas’ leader for Gaza and its top negotiator — three bodyguards, and
the head of al-Hayya’s office. Hamas, which has sometimes only confirmed
the assassination of its leaders months later, offered no immediate
proof that al-Hayya and other senior figures had survived.
The United States said Israel alerted it before the strike. But American
officials sought to distance the U.S. from the attack. The White House
said President Donald Trump believes the strike was an “unfortunate
incident” that didn’t advance peace in the region. Press secretary
Karoline Leavitt said Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and “made his thoughts and concerns very clear.”
She also told reporters that Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff passed
along a warning to the Qataris. But Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson
Majed al-Ansari derided the warning, saying in a post on X that it came
just as “the explosions from the Israeli strikes were being heard.”
Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, lashed
out at Netanyahu for “dragging the region to a place where it
unfortunately cannot be repaired.”
Asked at a news conference if cease-fire talks would continue, Sheikh
Mohammed said that after the strike, “I don’t think there’s anything
valid” in the current talks. But he stopped short of saying Qatar would
end its mediation efforts, saying “we will do whatever we can to stop
this war.”
A member of Qatar’s Internal Security Force was also killed by the
Israeli strike and others were wounded, Qatar's Interior Ministry said.
Hamas has survived numerous assassinations of top leaders and still
shows cohesion in Gaza, despite having suffered major blows in Israel's
campaign, triggered by the militant group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on
Israel.
As the strike in Qatar threatens to derail ceasefire talks, Israel is
gearing up for a major offensive aimed at taking over Gaza City. That
escalation has been met with heavy international condemnation and
opposition within Israel from those who fear it will doom the remaining
hostages.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting for Wednesday
at the request of elected council members Algeria, Pakistan and Somalia.
Israel had long threatened Hamas in Qatar
Surveillance footage aired by Al Jazeera showed the strike happened in
Doha’s diplomatic quarter at a series of buildings that housed Hamas’
political wing. An Egyptian official said the strike came when a meeting
by Hamas officials over the talks had been scheduled for the site. The
official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to
talk to reporters.
Israel has long threatened to strike Hamas leaders wherever they are.
While it has often welcomed Qatar's role as a mediator, alongside Egypt,
it has also accused the Gulf nation of not putting enough pressure on
the group.
In contrast to previous Israeli operations against senior militants
abroad, Netanyahu was quick to publicly claim the strike, saying:
“Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it and Israel takes full
responsibility."
He said the decision was made Monday after a shooting attack in
Jerusalem that killed six people and an attack on Israeli forces in Gaza
that killed four soldiers.
The Israeli military said it used “precise munitions and additional
intelligence” in the strike, without elaborating. It was not immediately
clear how it carried out the attack.
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In this framegrab taken from video Qatar Prime Minister and Foreign
Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani
addresses the press in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday Sept. 9, 2025,(AP Photo)
Hamas said the attack showed that Netanyahu and his government “do
not want to reach any agreement and are deliberately seeking to
thwart all opportunities.” It said it also held the United States
responsible for the strike.
Egypt, another key mediator with Hamas, also condemned the attack,
saying it targeted Palestinian leaders who had met “to discuss ways
to reach a ceasefire agreement.” It said the strike was a “direct
assault” on Qatar’s sovereignty.
In Israel, the main group representing families of the hostages
expressed “deep concern and great fear” after the strike. “The
prospect of their return now faces greater uncertainty than ever,
with one thing absolutely certain — their time is running out,” the
Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
Ceasefire negotiations in doubt
Earlier this week, Trump said he was giving his “last warning” to
Hamas regarding a possible ceasefire, as the U.S. advanced a new
proposal that Arab officials said included the immediate release of
all the hostages.
A senior Hamas official called it a “humiliating surrender
document,” but the militant group said it would discuss the proposal
and respond within days.
The proposal, presented by Witkoff, calls for a negotiated end of
the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza once the
hostages are released and a ceasefire is established. That's
according to Egyptian and Hamas officials familiar with the talks,
who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door
discussions.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 48 hostages,
around 20 of whom are believed to be alive, in exchange for
Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a complete Israeli
withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying the
war will continue until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has
been disarmed, with Israel maintaining open-ended security control
over Gaza.
Mediators had previously focused on brokering a temporary ceasefire
and the release of some hostages, with the two sides then holding
talks on a more permanent truce. Witkoff walked away from those
talks in July, after which Hamas accepted a proposal that mediators
said was almost identical to an earlier one that Israel had
approved.
International outrage
The war in Gaza has already left Israel increasingly isolated
internationally, with even many of its Western allies calling for it
to end the war and do more to address the humanitarian catastrophe
in Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine.
Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates' foreign
minister, expressed “full solidarity with our dear Qatar" shortly
after the attack.
The United Arab Emirates recently warned Israel that any move to
annex the occupied West Bank would threaten the Abraham Accords, a
landmark agreement brokered by Trump during his first term in which
the two nations normalized relations.
Trump hopes to expand those accords to include regional heavyweight
Saudi Arabia, but those prospects have dimmed as the war has ground
on.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman described the strike as a
“criminal act and a flagrant violation of international law" in a
phone call with Qatar's ruler.
___
Federman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Samy
Magdy in Cairo, and Aamer Madhani, Darlene Superville and Konstantin
Toropin in Washington, contributed.
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