DOHA/TEL AVIV/TEHRAN - The Israeli Air Force has launched an unprecedented operation against the Hamas leadership in Qatari territory. Fifteen Israeli fighter jets dropped ten bombs in several waves on targets in the Qatari capital Doha, with one specific target hit, according to Israeli Army Radio. The planes returned safely to their bases after refuelling in the air.
According to AP and other media reports, the attack hit the office of Hamas' political wing. The victim was the head of the political leadership and chief negotiator Khalil Hajjah along with several other leading figures in the movement. However, Hamas sources later claimed that their negotiating team survived the operation.
The attack took place as Hamas was negotiating an American-backed ceasefire proposal in Doha, with Qatar as a mediator. The strike thus jeopardised previous diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting. According to the British Guardian, it was also in retaliation for the recent attack in Jerusalem in which six Israeli civilians were killed.
Qatar, which has long acted as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, described the Israeli airstrike as flagrant violation of international law and a "cowardly criminal attack" on its sovereignty. The government also warned that the threat to civilians in densely populated Doha was unacceptable.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed in an official statement that it was a completely independent Israeli operation: 'Israel initiated it, carried it out and bears full responsibility for it.' It said the action was directed against "top Hamas terrorist commanders".
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai described the attack as a flagrant violation of the UN Charter and called on the world community to oppose Israel's policy, which he said ignores international law both in the Gaza Strip and in the Middle East in general. Condemnation was also voiced by other Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates.
According to some diplomatic sources, Washington was informed of the action in advance, but the US government has not officially confirmed this fact. The attack is the first time Israel has carried out a military intervention on the territory of Qatar, a close ally of the United States. The move represents a major expansion of Israeli operations that have so far targeted targets in Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Yemen.
The event immediately sparked fears of a collapse of the ongoing ceasefire negotiations and threatened a further escalation of the conflict, which could spread beyond the traditional areas of fighting.
gnews.cz - GH
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