Qatari authorities say they are still searching for two missing people and identifying human remains after an Israeli strike targeted senior Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday.
Israeli media have reported that there is concern in Israeli military circles that the highly controversial attack was not successful.
The Qatari interior ministry has identified the bodies of three of the five lower-level Hamas members who the Palestinian armed group said were killed along with a Qatari security officer. Hamas has claimed the attempt to assassinate its negotiating team failed.
In an interview with CNN, Qatar’s prime minister did not reveal the fate of Hamas’s chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya.
“Until now… there is no official declaration,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said on Wednesday evening.
He also said Israel’s action amounted to “state terror” and that he hoped Qatar’s regional partners would agree a “collective response”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said its strike was justified because it targeted what he called the “terrorist masterminds” of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 64,656 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza during the ensuing war, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
AFPQatar is a key US regional ally that is the location of a major American air base. It has hosted the Hamas political bureau since 2012, and has served along with the US and Egypt as a mediator in indirect negotiations between the group and Israel.
Tuesday afternoon’s air strike in northern Doha targeted residential premises housing several members of the political bureau of Hamas as they discussed the latest US proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, according to Qatari officials.
Israeli officials initially told Israeli media that they were optimistic about the results of what they dubbed “Operation Summit of Fire”.
However, reports on Wednesday reflected their growing pessimism, with the suggestion that it might not have been as successful as they had thought. Some officials were quoted as saying the Hamas leaders may have been in a different part of the building.
Hamas said on Tuesday that the “heinous crime” had killed five of its members: Khalil al-Hayya’s son, Humam, the director of Hayya’s office, Jihad Labad, and bodyguards Moamen Hassouna, Abdullah Abdul Wahid and Ahmed al-Mamluk.
“We confirm the enemy’s failure to assassinate our brothers in the negotiating delegation,” it added, without providing any evidence.
By Wednesday evening, the Qatari interior ministry said authorities had identified the bodies of Humam al-Hayya, Labad, Hassouna, and Corporal Badr al-Humaidi, a member of Qatar’s Internal Security Force.
The ministry said efforts were under way by specialised teams to “identify two individuals reported missing”, adding that human remains had been discovered “in various locations”.
There was no mention of the whereabouts of Khalil al-Hayya, who has yet to appear in public.
Netanyahu said Israeli forces had gone after Hamas’s leaders in Qatar because it was giving them “safe haven”.
“I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists: you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don’t, we will,” he warned.
In response, Sheikh Mohammed told CNN that it was Netanyahu who “needs to be brought to justice”.
“He’s the one who’s wanted at the [International Criminal Court].”
Last year, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe the men bore criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The Israeli government and both men rejected the accusations.
Sheikh Mohammed also said he feared the Israeli strike had “just killed any hope” for the 48 remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
He said he had met one of the hostages’ families only hours before the attack, and that they had been “counting on this [ceasefire] mediation and they have no other hope”.
Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel’s action could “open the door to an end of the war”.
He confirmed that Israel had accepted the US ceasefire proposal and urged the people of Gaza to follow suit.
When asked if Qatar would now shut down Hamas’s office, Sheikh Mohammed said his government was “reassessing everything” and having “a very detailed conversation” with the US about the way forward.
US President Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy about every aspect” of the strike.
“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,” he wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. “However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
Trump said he had told special envoy Steve Witkoff to inform Qatar of the impending attack after being notified by the US military, but that it was “too late”.
Sheikh Mohammed said the US had contacted Qatar “10 minutes after the attack”.
Qatar’s fellow Arab states have also expressed outrage at the Israeli strike.
On Wednesday, the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, flew to Doha to show its solidarity.
He told Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, that Israel’s “criminal attack” threatened the Middle East’s “security, stability, and prospects for peace”, according to the UAE’s WAM news agency.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, who is expected to visit Doha on Thursday, said Israel’s “brutal aggression” required action.
According to Sheikh Mohammed, there are plans for a summit to be held in Qatar in the near future to discuss a regional response.
