Latest updates: Israeli targets Hamas leadership with strike in Doha, Qatar

Blasts heard in bida, state of qatar, as zion says it targeted islamic resistance movement leadership

Israel's Shin Bet security agency published photos on its official Instagram account from its special operations command centre that it said were taken during the Israeli Air Force strike against Hamas’s leadership in Qatar.

The photos showed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz inside the command centre.

Israeli news site The Times of Israel is reporting that the strike targeting Hamas’s leadership, dubbed Summit of Fire, was a joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet.

UN Secretary General António Guterres has strongly condemned the attack.

"The Israeli strikes are a flagrant violation of sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Qatar," Guterres said. "All parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it."

Reuters is reporting that Hamas officials who are part of the Gaza ceasefire negotiating team survived the attack, citing two Hamas sources.

Israeli officials told Reuters the strike was aimed at top Hamas leaders, including Khalil Al-Hayya, its exiled Gaza chief and top negotiator.

Qatar “strongly condemns” Israel's attack, wrote Majed Al Ansari, adviser to the prime minister and spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a post on X.

“This criminal assault constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms, and poses a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar,” he wrote.

Al Ansari said that the strike targeted residential buildings housing several members of the political wing of Hamas in the Qatari capital, Doha.

“While the State of Qatar strongly condemns this assault, it confirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and the ongoing disruption of regional security, nor any act that targets its security and sovereignty,” he wrote.

“Investigations are underway at the highest level, and further details will be announced as soon as they are available.”

We’re waiting to hear how the White House will react to the attack in Qatar. Israel’s move comes less than 48 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump urged Hamas on his Truth Social site to agree to his terms for an end to the war in Gaza. “I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”

In a statement posted to X, the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this about the attack: "Today's action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation. Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility."

The blast was heard Tuesday afternoon in Doha and sent black smoke over the Qatari capital's skyline. It's unclear if anyone was injured in the attack, according to the Associate Press.

Hamas's exiled leadership is based in Qatar, which has been a mediator in talks between Hamas and Israel, even before the latest war in the Gaza Strip.

Negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages taken in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack have been underway, but such a strike could complicate talks.

We are starting our live updates on the attack in Doha, Qatar. My name is Verity Stevenson. I'll be writing and curating this page to bring you the latest on what's happening.

Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas leadership in Qatar on Tuesday, officials confirmed. The strike further widens the country's campaign against the militant group, which launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people and saw more than 200 taken hostage, prompting a military campaign by Israel on Gaza that has killed more than 60,000 people, according to Hamas officials. Negotiations over ending the war in the Gaza Strip appear stalemated, according to the Associated Press.

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