Israel says it will target Hamas anywhere as world slams Doha attack
Israel’s attack on Hamas in Doha is the latest and most controversial escalation of Israel’s attempt to eliminate the terror group.
Israel has warned Hamas its leaders will be targeted anywhere after an unprecedented strike against the terror group in Qatar that has been strongly criticised by Donald Trump, Australia, Europe and the Arab world.
The high-risk Israeli attack in Doha, the capital city of a key US Middle East ally, has left peace negotiations over Gaza in disarray at a time when political leaders of the terror group had gathered in the city to consider a US-led ceasefire deal.
In an audacious operation that was ordered only days after a Hamas-backed terror attack in Israel left six people dead, more than 10 Israeli warplanes attacked buildings in which Hamas operatives were meeting, and although the strike failed to kill senior Hamas leaders, five Hamas operatives died in the attack.
The Israeli strike targeted Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya, who has been leading the indirect negotiations with Israel, but Hamas said Mr Hayya had survived the attack although it killed his son and the director of Mr Hayya’s office, as well as three bodyguards and an officer from Qatar’s Internal Security Forces.
“The days when the heads of terror enjoyed immunity anywhere are over,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“I will not allow such immunity for the murderers of our people.”
The strike is the latest in a series of targeted assassinations by Israel across the Middle East that have decapitated the leadership of terror groups including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and senior military commanders and nuclear scientists in Iran since the October 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis by Hamas.
But the Doha strike angered Mr Trump, who was only informed about it by the US military shortly before it began. By the time the US warned Qatar, the strike was already under way.
The US President said he felt “very badly about the location of the attack”. Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East and has acted as a critical mediator in peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
“I was very unhappy about it – very unhappy about every aspect,” Mr Trump posted on social media.
“We’ve got to get the hostages back. But I was very unhappy about the way that went down.
“This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me. Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals.”
But Mr Trump added that “eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal”.
Anthony Albanese criticised the Israeli strike, saying it “violated the sovereignty of Qatar” and put ceasefire negotiations at risk.
“I want to see peace in that region,” the Prime Minister said. “I do not want to see an escalation.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the strike would “obviously make it harder” to reach a peace deal in Gaza and risked further escalation of the conflict in the region. “The Australian government believes this was the wrong thing to do,” she said.
“Qatar has been one of the parties seeking an immediate ceasefire. It has been working with the US on the return of hostages. This is a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty. It imperils that work on the ceasefire and it risks escalation.”
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said the Coalition was “concerned” by Israel’s air strikes against the Hamas leadership in Qatar and has urged “all efforts” to prevent escalation.
“Our US allies have made it clear that launching attacks against targets in Qatar is a risk to the peace process and should not happen again,” Senator Cash said.
Mr Trump, in an attempt to contain the diplomatic fallout from the attack, assured Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani “that such a thing will not happen again on their soil”.
But a furious Mr Al Thani said Qatar reserved the right to respond to Israel’s attack, calling it a “pivotal moment” for the region.
“Qatar … reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack,” he said. “We believe that today we have reached a pivotal moment. There must be a response from the entire region to such barbaric actions.
“These missiles were used to attack the negotiating delegation of the other party. By what moral standards is this acceptable?”
Mr Al Thani said Qatar would continue to act as a moderator to try to reach a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel but could not say if such a deal was still possible after the attack.
Mr Netanyahu moved to end speculation of US complicity in the strike, saying Israel had acted “wholly independently … and we take full responsibility for this action”.
He said the attack was justified by Hamas’s ongoing attempts to kill Israelis, including the Hamas-backed terror attack at an Israeli bus stop this week that left six people dead.
Hamas political officials had gathered in Doha to discuss the latest US-led ceasefire proposal for Gaza, which calls for the release of all hostages in exchange for Palestinian political prisoners, and followed by US-led negotiations to end the war in Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu indicated after the Doha attack that Israel would accept the ceasefire proposal in “principle”, and claimed the strike “could open the door to an end of the war” in Gaza.
Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, said the attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar should come as no surprise.
“It should also be remembered that Qatar itself is far from an innocent bystander or neutral ‘mediator’. They are one of Hamas’s most important allies, hosting its leadership in lavish style, supplying the terror groups with funds,” Dr Rubenstein said.
“So while Qatar, as such, was not the target of this attack, they are to some extent reaping what they sowed, and it is hard to have much sympathy with their complaints about Israeli violation of their sovereignty.”
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