Several explosions were heard in the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday, September 9, and according to eyewitness accounts, smoke was seen rising. An anonymous Israeli representative confirmed to the AP news agency that the Israeli army was responsible for the attack, which was aimed at targeting leading representatives of the Palestinian Hamas movement. Qatar condemned the attack, calling it “cowardly,” according to the Times of Israel (TOI) website.
The Israeli army announced in a joint statement with the Shin Bet intelligence service that the Israeli air force had attacked the Hamas leadership.
“The members of the leadership who were targeted have been directing the activities of the terrorist organization for years and are directly responsible for the massacre of October 7, 2023, and for waging war against the State of Israel,” the Times of Israel quoted from the statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on the day of the attack that the country would take “full responsibility” for the airstrike on Qatar.
“Today's operation against Hamas's top terrorist leaders was a completely independent Israeli operation... Israel initiated it, Israel carried it out, and Israel takes full responsibility,” Netanyahu said on Platform X.
Netanyahu added that it was in response to the September 8 attack in Jerusalem that killed six people. The day after the attack, the armed wing of Hamas claimed responsibility.
Muslim countries condemned the attack
Several allies of Hamas, including Iran and the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, condemned the incident. Tehran called the attack “an extremely dangerous and criminal operation.”
“(The attack) is a gross violation of all international rules and guidelines, a violation of Qatar's national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmáíl Bakají said on state television.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad also criticized the incident. “Israel's attack on the meeting of Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital of Doha is a serious crime that violates all human norms and values, as well as the most basic international laws and norms,” the group said in a statement.
“The brutal Israeli attack on Qatar constitutes a gross violation of international law and an escalation that jeopardizes regional security and stability,” the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said.
Egypt warned in response to the attack that the incident could set a “dangerous precedent” and condemned the aggression of the “occupation forces” against Qatar, which was directed against a meeting of Palestinian leaders.
According to Cairo, “they discussed ways to reach a ceasefire agreement,” the president's office said, referring to negotiations between Israel and Hamas over the Gaza Strip.
The US knew about the attack in advance
An Israeli representative told Channel 12 television that US President Donald Trump had also allegedly approved the attack, TOI adds.
An anonymous White House representative confirmed to AFP that Israel had informed the United States in advance. Several heads of state and government around the world condemned the incident and criticized Israel's actions.
The US Embassy in Doha urged American citizens to seek safety. According to preliminary reports, there are no known casualties or injuries among American citizens following the attack.
According to White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, Trump did not approve of the Israeli attack. Although the elimination of Hamas is a “noble goal,” according to the White House chief, the attack in the Qatari capital of Doha “does not contribute to the goals of Israel or America.”
The president considers Qatar a strong ally and friend of the United States and is very unhappy with the location of this attack, Leavitt added.
The White House spokeswoman also said that the American president spoke with Netanyahu after the incident and “made his thoughts and concerns very clear.”
According to the Reuters news agency, Trump also spoke with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, whom he assured that “something like this would not happen again on their territory.”
Qatar responds
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari described the attack as "a clear violation of all international laws and norms ... (which) endangers the safety of Qatari citizens and residents.“
”The State of Qatar strongly condemns the cowardly Israeli attack, which targeted residential buildings where several members of Hamas lived in the Qatari capital, Doha," the spokesman said on social network X.
Israeli Finance Minister Becalel Smotrich praised the army for the attack, according to AFP. “Terrorists do not enjoy immunity and will never enjoy it anywhere in the world from Israel's reach,” he said on social media, praising “the right decision and perfect execution by the Israeli army and Shin Bet intelligence service.”
The AP news agency notes that the Hamas leadership in exile has long been based in Qatar. This Persian Gulf country has served as a mediator in negotiations between Hamas and Israel for several years.
Known victims
The Times of Israel portal added, citing Arab media, that leading Hamas representatives, including chief negotiator Khalil Hayya, were in the buildings that were hit. Reports on their condition vary.
A representative of the Palestinian militant movement Hamas told Al-Jazeera television that its leading members had survived the Israeli attack on the Qatari capital, Doha. However, he confirmed that the son of Hamas' chief negotiator and his adviser had been killed in the Israeli attack – but that the main target of the attack had been the negotiator himself.
Qatar confirmed that “according to preliminary information, the attack claimed the life (...) of a member of the internal security forces.” The authorities there added that other members of the security forces had also been injured in the attack. TOI reported, citing Arab media, that the attack had claimed a total of five victims.
The EU is undecided
The European Commission (EC) is prepared to suspend trade relations and research partnerships with Israel, but the governments of EU member states are preventing such a move. In addition to the partial suspension of the Association Agreement with Israel, the European Commission is also proposing sanctions against extremist Israeli ministers and violent settlers.
“Our options for further action are clear and remain on the table, but member states cannot agree on how to force the Israeli government to change course... As a Union, we cannot act unless member states present a united front,” EU Foreign Affairs Representative Kaja Kallas explained on Tuesday during a debate in the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg.
She had previously accused Israel of blocking aid to civilians and undermining “decades of humanitarian principles.” In June, she responded to criticism from MEPs who accused her of inaction. In her opinion, it is difficult to act quickly because she needs the unanimous consent of all member states.
In her State of the Union address to MEPs in Strasbourg on September 10, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged that it would be difficult to find a majority in the Council for the planned measures against Jerusalem.
The EU is also in a stalemate over sanctions against Israel over the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, wrote the pro-Brussels daily Politico.
While Spain and Belgium are introducing tougher unilateral measures, Germany and Hungary are more cautious about restrictive measures.
French President Emmanuel Macron already described the Israeli airstrikes on the Qatari capital Doha as unacceptable on September 9. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also condemned the attacks.
The attacks are “unacceptable regardless of their motive,” Macron said in a post on Platform X, adding that “war must not spread to the region.”
Slovakia considers Israel's air strikes to be a violation of international law and of the customs that are usually observed in peace negotiations in third countries, said Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár (Smer).
He emphasized that Slovakia supports the peace negotiations. However, in his opinion, these must not conflict with international law and humanitarian law.
In response to the attacks, the UN Security Council will hold a special meeting on September 10. The meeting, scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. CET), was requested on Tuesday by Algeria and Pakistan, among others, according to sources.
Qatar itself informed the UN Security Council that the Israeli attack represented a “serious escalation of the situation” that the government in Doha ‘condemns’ and considers “criminal and cowardly aggression.”