After ordering jets to attack Qatar, Benjamin Netanyahu went to a party at the US embassy in Jerusalem

Israel decided to try and kill several senior Hamas leaders when it discovered they were gathering in the Qatar capital of Doha on Tuesday to consider a US proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas leaders, who have operated a Doha office since 2012, considered Qatar a safe location because of the Gulf state’s close relationship with US, which operates its Central Command military regional headquarters at a sprawling base outside the capital.

Before lunch on Tuesday Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered about a dozen Israeli Air Force fighters to attack a Hamas residence in northern Doha with long-range missiles, according to The Wall Street Journal. The jets fired before they entered Qatar’s heavily defended air space.

The Israeli military told their American counterparts the attack was coming minutes before missiles were launched without disclosing the exact target, American officials told the Journal.

The US military detected the launch and worked out where the missiles were heading. Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, was told about the strike while he was travelling and contacted Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Dan Caine, America’s top military officer.

The casualties were unclear. Hamas said the son of a negotiator was among five people who died, maintaining that none of them were leaders in the terror group. Qatar’s interior ministry said one member of its Internal Security Force was killed.

‘Not thrilled’

With almost no prior notice, the Trump Administration had no way to prevent an attack on an important ally in what is seen around the world as an escalation of Israel’s war against Hamas, the terrorist group that attacked it in 2023.

President Donald Trump, who has tried to broker a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages taken in the October 7 Hamas attacks that sparked the war in Gaza, expressed his disapproval of efforts to kill participants in a meeting the US had hoped could end the fighting.

“Well, I’m not thrilled,” he told journalists. “I’m just I’m not thrilled about the whole situation. It’s not a good situation.”

On social media, the US President said he spoke to Mr Netanyahu after the strike, which “does not advance Israel or America’s goals” even though eliminating Hamas is “a worthy goal”. He said he “felt very badly about the location of the attack.”

The Australian Government and Opposition joined criticism from around the world, from Saudi Arabia to the Vatican. Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who plans to go to the United Nations with Anthony Albanese this month to formally recognise a state of Palestine, said Israel’s actions threatened a ceasefire that could have led to the return of hostages.

“This is why this decision by Prime Minister Netanyahu is so destructive, because these negotiations were fundamentally about ending the war and having hostages returned and having the situation in Gaza alleviated,” she told Sky News.

Her Liberal counterpart, Michaelia Cash, issued a rare rebuke of Israel: “All efforts must now be taken to ensure that there is no further escalation.”

‘Surgical strike’

One of the richest countries in the world thanks to large reserves of natural gas, Qatar has kept relations open with both sides throughout the war, contributing to previous ceasefires that led to the release of most of the hostages held by Hamas. The emirate said it “reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack”.

Mr Netanyahu, who attended a belated July 4 celebration at the US embassy in Jerusalem after the attack, described it as a “surgical precision strike” in retaliation for a bus-stop shooting in Jerusalem this week that killed six Israelis, which Hamas claimed credit for. “This action can open the door to the end of the war in Gaza,” he said.

He called on Hamas to release the remaining hostages captured on October 7, 2023, a step that would end the war, he said. About 20 are estimated to have survived in tunnels underneath the war-torn Gaza Strip.

Israel has warned Palestinians to withdraw from Gaza City in the centre of the Strip ahead of a well-foreshadowed military operation designed to wipe out what is left of the terrorist group. The bombing in Doha suggests that Mr Netanyahu does not wish to negotiate with the group and is determined to eradicate it from Gaza.

Jewish reaction

Israel supporters praised the Doha attack.

On social media, some people wrote: “The question shouldn’t be: ‘Why did Israel take out Hamas terrorist leaders in Qatar?’ The question should be: ‘Why is Qatar harbouring Hamas terrorist leaders?’”

One Jewish-Australian lobbyist accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and allowing the Al Jazeera television network to operate as “something akin to Hamas’ propaganda arm”. “The Qatari Government also spends billions spreading Islamist extremism and anti-Semitism around the world,” Colin Rubenstein said.

Einav Zangauker, whose son is a hostage, accused Mr Netanyahu of threatening his life. “It could be that in these very moments the Prime Minister has actually assassinated my Matan,” she wrote on X. “Why does he insist on blowing up any chance of a deal?”

Fellow Israeli Adam Ma’anit celebrated the possible death of Hamas leaders. “Among them was Husam Badran – the man who orchestrated the murder of my 16-year old cousin Orly,” he wrote on X. “Finally he won’t be able to hurt any more children.”