By Lior Ben Ari

Copyright ynetnews

“Israeli aggression in Qatar” read the banner headline on Wednesday morning in the Qatari daily The New Arab, following Israel’s unprecedented strike in Doha that targeted Hamas leaders. According to local sources quoted by the paper, the attack took place minutes after the Hamas negotiating delegation had concluded a meeting, not while they were inside the villa that was struck. The sources said Qatar has “suspended all contact with the Israeli negotiating delegation” in the aftermath. Majed al-Ansari, spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, told the newspaper that the government is “holding talks to convene an Arab-Islamic summit later this week in Doha in response to the strike.” Almost a day after Operation Summit of Fire — Israel’s first strike in Qatar — neither Hamas’ claims that its leaders survived nor Israeli reports of their deaths have been verified. Still, talking with Al Jazeera, Hamas official Suhail al-Hindi called senior leader Khalil al-Hayya “the martyred commander,” before quickly correcting himself to “the beloved brother.” Meanwhile, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter warned in an interview with Fox News that Israel would continue targeting Hamas and hinted at the possibility of another strike in Doha. “If we didn’t get them this time, we’ll get them next time,” he said. According to media reports, al-Hayya attended the meeting at the terrorist group’s Doha headquarters along with other senior officials, including Mohammed Darwish, Zaher Jabarin, Ghazi Hamad and Izzat al-Rishq. The Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli warplanes launched missiles from outside Qatari airspace, similar to past strikes in the region, including in Iran. The report said the jets did not enter Emirati or Saudi skies. On the front page of the Qatari daily Al-Sharq, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani was quoted as saying: “We will take all measures against this criminal attack. This reckless assault is a blatant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and security.” The paper also cited Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani: “The American side informed us 10 minutes after the strike,” and al-Ansari, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, as saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “must be restrained.” The strike, for which Netanyahu publicly claimed full responsibility, dominated the headlines in other Qatari newspapers as well. Al-Arab labeled it a “cowardly Israeli strike,” while Al-Watan highlighted the emir’s call with U.S. President Donald Trump and described the attack as “criminal.” Qatari outlets reported Tuesday that during his conversation with the emir, Trump “affirmed solidarity with Doha and condemned the violation of its sovereignty.” According to the reports, Trump urged the emir to continue mediation efforts to end the war in Gaza despite the developments. Trump later distanced himself from the strike, posting on Truth Social: “This was Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision, not mine.” He added: “Bombing Qatar, a close U.S. ally that works very hard and takes risks to achieve peace, does not advance the goals of the United States or Israel.” Speaking to reporters in Washington, Trump said, “I am not at all pleased with the Israeli strike in Qatar.” Across the Arab world, the attack also dominated front pages. Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat ran the headline: “Israel strikes Hamas in Doha, disrupts negotiations.” London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi stressed: “Six killed in Israeli strike in Doha, Hamas leadership survives.” On Tuesday, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister announced the formation of a “legal team” to examine a response to Israel’s action. He issued a direct warning: “Qatar will not tolerate any violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity — and reserves the right to respond. Qatar today was subjected to an Israeli attack that constitutes terrorism. We have reached a critical moment, and there must be a response.” “The Israeli strike was a treacherous attack,” he added. “Weapons were used that were not detected by defense systems, and Israel is acting to sabotage ceasefire talks in Gaza.” He claimed the U.S. informed Qatar about the strike roughly 10 minutes after it began. Hamas confirmed the deaths of five of its members in the strike. Qatar’s Interior Ministry said a member of its internal security forces was also killed. According to Hamas, those killed included Jihad Lubad, chief of staff to al-Hayya al-Hayya’s son, Hamam and escorts Abdullah Abd al-Wahad, Muaman Hassouna and Ahmed Abd al-Malek. Qatar’s Interior Ministry identified the additional casualty as Badr Saeed Mohammed al-Hamidi. Authorities said search operations were still underway for missing persons at the site.