7 hours ago
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Reuters
Israel carried out a strike on senior Hamas leaders in Qatar's capital, Doha, on Tuesday afternoon.
Qatar quickly accused Israel of "reckless" behaviour and breaking international law after the attack on a residential premises in the city.
The Israel Defense Forces claimed to have targeted those "directly responsible for the brutal October 7 massacre".
Here is what we know so far.
How and where was attack carried out?
Explosions were heard and smoke was seen rising above the Qatari capital Doha early on Tuesday afternoon.
Verified footage showed smoke rising from a heavily damaged section of a complex next to Woqod petrol station on Wadi Rawdan Street, close to the West Bay Lagoon district north of central Doha.
According to the Israeli military, it conducted a "precise strike" targeted at Hamas senior leaders in Qatar using "precise munitions".
Israeli media says the operation involved 15 Israeli fighter jets, firing 10 munitions against a single target.
Qatar has hosted Hamas's political bureau since 2012 and played a key role in facilitating indirect negotiations between the group and Israel since the 7 October attacks.
Who was hit in the attack?
According to a Hamas official, members of the Hamas negotiating delegation were targeted during a meeting.
The IDF has said the strike was carried out on the group's "senior leadership", although it is not yet clear exactly which individuals were targeted.
What did the US know and did Trump give a 'green light'?
The office for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put out a statement shortly after the strike, claiming the attack was "a wholly independent Israeli operation".
"Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility," it said in a statement.
The White House also quickly confirmed it was informed of the operation, almost certainly because of the proximity of the huge US airbase at al-Udeid, just outside Doha.
This means that Donald Trump had a chance to say no to Israel but chose to give a green light instead.
Given this was an attack on sovereign Qatari territory, questions remain over how this will affect the massive US airbase at al-Udeid and how it will affect US relations with all its Gulf Arab allies.
What were Hamas leaders doing in Qatar?
Qatar has acted as a mediator between Israel and Hamas and has hosted negotiations between them since October 2023.
A couple of days ago, Hamas said it welcomed "some ideas" from the US about how to reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement that it received through mediators. It said it was in discussion about how to turn them "into a comprehensive agreement that meets the needs of our people".
It's thought likely the targeted Hamas leaders were in the middle of discussing their formal response to the US ideas.
A Palestinian official earlier told the BBC the US plan would see the 48 remaining hostages in Gaza freed in the first 48 hours of a 60-day truce in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and good-faith negotiations on a permanent ceasefire.
