What to know about the Israeli strike aimed at Hamas leaders in Qatar

An Israeli strike that targeted top Hamas leaders Tuesday as they gathered in the Gulf nation of Qatar marked a major escalation against the militant group and could upend negotiations aimed at ending the war in Gaza and returning Israeli hostages.

It could also spark a diplomatic crisis with Qatar, a U.S. ally hosting thousands of American troops that has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas for several years, even before the latest war.

Hamas said its top leaders survived, while acknowledging the deaths of two lower-ranking members and three bodyguards. The militant group, which has sometimes only confirmed the killing of its leaders months later, offered no immediate proof that senior figures were still alive.

The strike came as Hamas leaders based in the Qatari capital, Doha, were weighing a new ceasefire proposal from the Trump administration. The White House said Israel had informed the U.S. before the strike and that it had in turn warned the Qataris.

President Donald Trump viewed the strike as an “unfortunate incident” that did not advance peace in the region, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. He spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the attack and “made his thoughts and concerns very clear,” she said.

Here’s what to know:

Nearly all of Hamas’ top leaders in Gaza, including the two architects of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war, have been killed. But part of the group’s senior leadership, including Khalil al-Hayya, Mahmoud Darwish and Khaled Meshaal, have long resided abroad, mainly in Qatar and Turkey.

Israel has threatened to target Hamas leaders wherever they are, but until now had steered clear of Qatar, likely because of the Gulf nation’s close ties to the United States and its role as a mediator.

Hamas has survived the assassination of several top leaders since it was established in the 1980s, but it has never faced an onslaught on the scale of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attack.

The war has killed over 64,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians but says women and children make up around half of the dead. Entire towns and neighborhoods have been bombed to rubble, 90% of the population of 2 million has been displaced, often multiple times, and parts of the territory are experiencing famine.

The Hamas-run government and police have largely vanished, but the group is still able to mount guerrilla-style attacks on Israeli forces. Four soldiers were killed Monday when a bomb was thrown into a tank.

Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7 attack and killed some 1,200, mostly civilians. Forty-eight hostages are still inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.

They are Hamas’ last bargaining chip, and the militants say they will release them only in return for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed. Even then, he says Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza.

Israelis have held mass protests accusing Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political reasons. They want a ceasefire that would return the hostages, and many fear that further escalation could doom the surviving captives, held in tunnels and other secret locations around Gaza.

Earlier this week, Trump said he was giving his “last warning” to Hamas, while Israel is in the initial stages of another major offensive in Gaza City. Hamas said it received a new U.S. ceasefire proposal calling for the immediate release of all the remaining hostages in return for talks on ending the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Israel said it accepted the deal, while a senior Hamas official, Bassem Naim, described it as a “humiliating surrender document” offering no guarantees that Israel would end the war or leave Gaza. Still, Hamas said it would discuss the proposal with other armed groups and respond within days.

Those discussions were underway when the explosions rang out in Doha.

Hamas already harbored deep mistrust of Israel and the United States after Israel ended a ceasefire in March that Trump helped broker. The Doha strike plunges the talks into even greater uncertainty.

The final decision on the hostages, in any case, is likely to be made by Hamas’ battered but still intact armed wing inside Gaza that is holding them. It’s led by Ezzedin al-Haddad, a veteran commander who has gone deep underground.

Hamas’ surviving leaders are likely to further limit their communications in the wake of the strike, which could slow the negotiations even if they continue.

Israel has carried out multiple strikes against top militants, as well as Iranian generals and nuclear scientists, as the war sparked by the Oct. 7 attack has convulsed the region over the past two years.

But the strike in Qatar, a close U.S. ally that had cultivated close ties with President Donald Trump – even giving him a free replacement for Air Force One – shocked the region and could deepen Israel’s already unprecedented international isolation.

Key American allies, including Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, strongly condemned Tuesday’s strike.

In addition to hosting thousands of U.S. forces at the Al Udeid military base, Qatar has also served as a key mediator, not only with Hamas but the Afghan Taliban and other armed groups.

Critics accuse Qatar of bolstering Islamist groups across the region to extend its own influence. Qatari officials have denied those allegations, saying it is focused on regional stability and that its mediation efforts are undertaken with the full knowledge and support of the U.S.