The Israeli military has bombed a residential building in the Qatari capital, Doha.
Israeli forces carried out a strike in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, targeting senior Hamas leaders. Local media reported six powerful simultaneous explosions and smoke across the capital.
The strike had occurred in a quiet, residential neighbourhood with many foreign embassies.
Qatar is known around the world for the level of security that people here enjoy,” he said.
“The explosions were heard ringing out across the city… There are a lot of very nervous, very worried people across this country as we speak,” Al Jazeera said.
The attack on Tuesday is the first by Israel in Qatar, a key mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, and home to the region’s largest United States military base, Al Udeid Air Base.
Israel has been bombarding Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, and Syria as well as carrying out daily attacks in the occupied West Bank in Palestine.
A senior Hamas source told Al Jazeera the delegation survived the attack, while Qatar condemned the strike.
The attack came as the negotiators were meeting to consider the latest ceasefire proposal put forth by the US.
The Israeli military released a statement saying it and the Shin Bet intelligence service “recently carried out a targeted attack on the top leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization”.
“The members of the leadership who were attacked led the terrorist organization’s activities for years, and are directly responsible for carrying out the October 7 massacre and waging the war against the State of Israel”, it added, referring to the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
The statement said that before the attack, “steps were taken to minimize harm to uninvolved people, including the use of precision weapons and additional intelligence information.”
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also released a statement, saying the 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,” said the statement.
Qatar condemns ‘criminal attack’
In a statement, Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the country “condemns in the strongest terms” the attack, which he said was carried out on residential buildings housing several members of the Hamas political bureau.
This criminal attack constitutes a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms and a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents of Qatar,” the statement said.
“While strongly condemning this attack, the State of Qatar affirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and its continued tampering with regional security, as well as any action targeting its security and sovereignty.
Investigations are underway at the highest level, and further details will be announced as soon as they become available.”
Qatar’s Interior Ministry said in a later statement that the situation in Doha was safe, and specialised teams were working at the scene of the strike.
UN calls attack flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereigntyUnited Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned Israel’s strikes as a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar.”
He said Qatar has been playing a very positive role to try and achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of captives held by Hamas.
“All parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it,” he said
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