New satellite images show the impact on the ground of Israel’s airstrike targeting Hamas negotiators in Doha, Qatar this week.
Israel on Tuesday carried out an airstrike against Hamas’s political leaders in Doha, which Qatar condemned as a “cowardly attack” and “criminal assault”.
Hamas said the strike failed to kill any of the senior negotiators targeted, but that five “low-ranking” members died. Qatar said one member of its security forces was killed and others injured.
The airstrike drew mass condemnation from leaders both in the Gulf and around the world, with many expressing concern that Israel had violated the sovereignty of a nation which has been a key broker in talks between Hamas and Israel since the 7 October attack and Benjamin Netanyahu’s Gaza invasion two years ago.
The satellite images released by Planet Labs show the Israeli air force hit a walled compound where Hamas negotiators were reportedly meeting to consider a ceasefire proposed by Washington.
The post-attack satellite image revealed that the damage was limited to a cluster of five buildings, with little impact visible on the surrounding structures. The building in the lower right corner of the cluster sustained the most damage, along with the building to the left of it. The image also shows a large number of vehicles responding to the incident in what was earlier a quiet corner of the capital.
Other parts of the compound, including a small structure near the pool, were also hit. Buildings adjacent to the compound seem to have remained largely untouched.
The military operation involved 15 Israeli fighter jets, which fired 10 munitions against a single target, according to the Israeli media.
Hamas said none of those killed were part of its negotiating team. It said the dead included Hammam, the son of their exiled leader and chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, the director of al-Hayya’s office, and three bodyguards.
Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani described Tuesday’s attack as “state terrorism” that threatened the security and stability of the region, adding that Doha had the “right to respond”.
“We believe that today we have reached a pivotal moment. There must be a response from the entire region to such barbaric actions,” he said on Wednesday.
US president Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy” about Israel’s actions but stopped short of outright condemning Israel for what was described as a “unilateral decision”.
Mr Trump called the strike on Hamas’s political wing “unfortunate” and said he had directed US envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar, but by then it was too late.
