IDF targeted Hamas chief in Qatar because he objected to Gaza deal, President Herzog says -
By JAMES CLARK REYNOLDS, and MARK NICOL, DEFENCE
Israel's president said that the IDF targeted Hamas' chief in Qatar because he objected to a ceasefire deal towards ending the war in Gaza.
Isaac Herzog told the Daily Mail on Wednesday: 'We targeted Khalil al Hayya because he objected to a deal on Gaza. He kept saying "Yes, but" in negotiations.'
'He is number one in Hamas and has the blood of thousands of Israelis on his hands,' the president said ahead of a summit with Sir Keir Starmer in London today.
'[Hayya] was one of the planners of October 7.'
Israel closed ranks to defend the decision to target Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday after the attack on negotiators drew rare rebuke from Donald Trump.
Its ambassador to the U.S. said on Wednesday it was the 'right' decision to target a complex where a delegation was meeting to discuss Trump's ceasefire proposals.
'We don't always act in the interests of the United States,' Danny Danon told Israel's 103FM radio station, while emphasizing 'appreciation' for U.S. support in general.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that the military had 'acted unilaterally', and said the strikes could 'open the door' to an end to the war in Gaza.
He said that Israel had accepted the proposal put forward by the Trump administration.
'If President Trump's proposal is accepted, the war can end immediately. We can begin once again to pursue the expansion of peace in our region for the benefit of all.'
Security footage captures the moment of an Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha
A damaged building, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders, according to an Israeli official, in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday
FILE PHOTO: Khalil Al-Hayya at a conference in Beirut in November 2023
FILE PHOTO: Israeli President Isaac Herzog (left) at the Vatican on September 3, 2025
The unprecedented attack on Qatar, a U.S. ally, nonetheless drew pointed criticism from Trump.
'I'm not thrilled about the whole situation,' he told reporters on Tuesday. 'We want the hostages back, but we are not thrilled about the way that went down today.'
'I view Qatar as a strong Ally and friend of the U.S., and feel very badly about the location of the attack,' he added in a post on social media.
While the White House initially said it had been notified, Trump said he was not alerted in advance.
Qatar was incensed by the attack, condemning the 'cowardly' strikes. Its prime minister said Doha reserves the right to respond.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani denounced Israel's Netanyahu for 'dragging the region to a place where it unfortunately cannot be repaired'.
Asked whether ceasefire talks will continue in the wake of the strikes, he said that 'I don't think there's anything valid' in current talks.
Qatar has played a central role in helping mediate ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.
Smoke billows from the site of the reported Israeli airstrikes in Doha on Tuesday
Smoke is seen rising after blasts were heard in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday
Hamas said that its negotiating delegation was meeting on Tuesday to discuss Trump's proposal for a ceasefire when the airstrike hit.
Israeli officials said that senior Hamas members were in attendance, but Hamas insisted that all officials in attendance survived the 'assassination attempt'.
It later said that six people, including the son of top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya and three bodyguards, were killed in the attack.
Sources close to the Palestinian group told AFP that six Hamas leaders including Hayya and former leader Khaled Meshaal were in the building targeted at the time.
Ambassador Danon said Israel was 'still waiting for the results' of the operation.
'It is too early to comment on the outcome, but the decision is the right one,' he added.
Danon also insisted that the attack was 'not on Qatar' but Hamas after the strikes drew outrage from states across the region.
'We are not against Qatar, nor any Arab country. We are currently against a terrorist organisation,' he said.
Observers said in the aftermath that the Israeli strike in Doha was aimed at 'crippling' negotiations with Hamas.
Dr Andreas Krieg, Associate Professor of Defence Studies at King's College, told the Daily Mail: 'Israel's strike in Doha was aimed at decapitating Hamas's political leadership and, by extension, crippling the negotiations for a ceasefire.
'Netanyahu wanted to show that Hamas leaders are not safe anywhere, even under Qatari protection, and to remind his domestic audience that he is still on the offensive after two years of grinding war.'
He said that Israel had 'gambled' with the decision to hit 'the very meeting where a US-backed ceasefire proposal was being discussed'.
'It was a way of forcing Washington's hand, putting Israel's maximalist position above US mediation.
'In doing so, he signalled to both Hamas and the White House that Israel will not be bound by negotiations it sees as premature or constraining.'
Hamas' top leadership survived the attack, according to Hamas, which will 'elevate their stature' and strengthen the 'resistance narrative', Dr Krieg said.
After years spent trying to normalise relations with neighbouring powers, Israel's gambit 'risks backfiring', isolating the country further and upsetting Qatar's partners.
'Internationally, the strike looks less like strategic foresight and more like Netanyahu ploughing the diplomatic field just to prove he can.'
Sooner than 'wresting control' of the ceasefire process from Washington, the result may be a 'weakened US hand, a humiliated Qatar, and an Israel even more diplomatically exposed'.
Smoke rises from an explosion caused by an Israeli strike in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday
FILE PHOTO: Former political bureau chief of Hamas, Khaled Mashal speaks as he attends the Baitul Maqdis Opinion Leaders Forum on October 12, 2018 in Istanbul
Pictured: Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani
Donald Trump's rebuke of Israel in the wake of the attack makes him look 'torn, even overwhelmed' by the speed of events, Dr Krieg assessed.
'His statement distancing himself — 'Not a decision made by me' — only reinforces the perception that Washington is no longer in control.
'The message to the region is that the US cannot restrain its closest ally, nor protect its closest mediator. That is a dangerous place for American credibility to be.'
Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the nearly two-year war in Gaza and resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,605 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.
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