Doha explosions: Israeli army launches attack on Hamas facilities and leaders in Qatar's capital

Multiple explosions were reported this Tuesday in Doha, the capital of Qatar, according to news agencies such as AFP, EFE, and Reuters, as well as residents and the Qatari network Al Jazeera. Following initial reports, the Israeli military stated that the attack targeted Hamas facilities in the city, targeting the Islamist group's top leaders.

The attack was confirmed by Qatar, which described it as a "cowardly" act targeting "members of Hamas's political office" in Doha.

For its part, the Islamist group assured AFP that the bombing targeted members of its negotiating group, which is advancing efforts to reach a truce agreement in the Gaza Strip, which has so far been unsuccessful.

A Hamas official in Gaza said, speaking on condition of anonymity, that Israel attacked the negotiating delegation "as it discussed President Donald Trump's proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip."

The Israel Defense Forces and the ISA (Israeli Security Agency) carried out a targeted strike against senior Hamas terrorist organization officials.

" Explosions and plumes of smoke in the Qatari capital," the Qatari network Al Jazeera said succinctly, while a Doha resident told EFE that "several explosions" and plumes of smoke were heard rising over the Katara district.

Meanwhile, according to Al Jazeera, which cited a Hamas official, the bombing hit negotiators of the Islamist movement in Doha.

Along the same lines, EFE news agency reported, based on statements from a Hamas official who requested anonymity, that the Islamist group's negotiating delegation survived.

"The Israel Defense Forces and the ISA (Israeli Security Agency) carried out a precise attack against senior commanders of the Hamas terrorist organization ," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on its X account, stating in its statement that before the attack it had taken "measures to mitigate harm to civilians" and that "precise munitions" were used to carry out this offensive.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office also confirmed Israel's responsibility for the attack : "It was a completely independent Israeli operation. Israel started it, Israel directed it, and Israel takes full responsibility," the office said on its Twitter account.

Images circulating on social media show multiple plumes of smoke rising in the Qatari capital. It is not yet known whether the attack resulted in any deaths or injuries.

The State of Qatar strongly condemns the cowardly Israeli attack that targeted residential buildings housing several members of Hamas's political office in the Qatari capital, Doha.

10 airstrikes reported in Doha allegedly targeting Hamas HQ for targeted assignments of Hamas leadership in Qatar, according to a senior Israel official pic.twitter.com/AtNshbKlz5

— Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) September 9, 2025

The Israeli military justified its attack by claiming it was a blow against the leadership of the Islamist group, a designated terrorist organization that carried out the violent incursion into Israel on October 7, 2023, which left hundreds dead and dozens kidnapped, several of whom are still being held by this organization.

"For years, these members of the Hamas leadership have directed the terrorist organization's operations, are directly responsible for the brutal massacre of October 7, and have been orchestrating and managing the war against the State of Israel," the message reads.

It was that October 2023 attack that sparked the violent Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, which to date has left more than 60,000 Palestinians dead, the vast majority of them civilians, as well as an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that threatens to worsen due to the intensification of bombing in recent weeks.

For its part, Qatar stated that the Israeli bombings targeted the homes of Hamas leaders and condemned what it called a "cowardly" attack.

" The State of Qatar strongly condemns the cowardly Israeli attack that targeted residential buildings housing several members of Hamas's political office in the Qatari capital, Doha ," Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in X.

This attack comes one day after the shooting in East Jerusalem that left six dead and more than a dozen wounded, in which both gunmen were killed. The attack was recently claimed by Hamas.

The Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades "claim responsibility for the shooting attack that occurred yesterday morning (...) near the Ramot settlement junction, which is located on the lands of our beloved Jerusalem," they said in a statement posted on Telegram.

It's worth remembering that Doha is the venue where both negotiating teams (from Israel and Hamas) met to advance the long-awaited ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of the hostages. So far, the meetings have yielded no progress in months, amid constant Israeli attacks on the Palestinian enclave.

According to Palestinian sources, the latest proposal presented by Trump—and accepted by Israel this Tuesday—provides for the phased release of hostages during an initial 60-day truce, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.