Israel Attacks Hamas Leadership in Qatar

0:00Today on State of the World, Israel attacks Hamas leadership in Qatar.

0:09You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. It's Tuesday, September 9th. I'm Greg Dixon. In an unprecedented move, Israel conducted an airstrike in Doha, Qatar today. The target was a building that housed senior Hamas leadership who had been living openly in Qatar. These are the figures involved in peace talks to bring about a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. This attack was a significant escalation and has implications for the future of peace in Gaza and throughout the Mideast region. We're going to hear more now from NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv.

0:49He spoke to Mary Louise Kelly. Fill in a few more details of what we actually have been able to confirm about this strike. The strike happened midday today in Doha, the capital of Qatar. hitting the residential compound of Hamas leaders in Qatar. Hamas's top political leaders have been based there for more than a decade. It's allowed the U.S. to maintain a kind of indirect channel of communication with Hamas. Now, Hamas says no leaders were killed in that strike. It says five lower-ranking people close to Hamas were killed, including the son of Hamas's top negotiator and some assistance to Hamas officials.

1:30and Qatar says one of its security officials was killed as well. Going back to a point you just made, Hamas's top political leaders have been based in Qatar for more than a decade. So why did Israel decide to do this now? Well, Israeli Army Radio is reporting this was in the works for months, a plan to target Hamas leaders. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he claims what triggered this was a Palestinian shooting attack in Jerusalem yesterday at a bus stop that killed six Israelis. Hamas today claimed responsibility for that attack. And this evening, Netanyahu spoke at a U.S. embassy party for the 4th of July.

2:10It was rescheduled from this summer because of the Israel-Iran war. And he said he authorized this strike on Hamas leaders in the same headquarters in Qatar where they were on October 7th, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. Now, they were meeting in the same place, exactly the same place, where they celebrated this savagery almost two years ago. At the beginning of the war, I promised that Israel would reach those who perpetrated this horror. And today, Israel and I have kept that promise.

2:50Now, despite what Netanyahu says about keeping that promise, Hamas says none of its leaders were killed in the attack. To the setting again, Netanyahu speaking at a U.S. embassy party in Jerusalem on the same day as these airstrikes in Qatar. I'm wondering about the timing and whether there was any U.S. involvement in this strike. Qatar, by the way, is a U.S. ally. That's right. And the White House had a very interesting reaction to this. It says it was notified of the Israeli strike as it was happening, and then it notified Qatar of the impending attack. And the White House says that a unilateral strike inside a sovereign nation and a close U.S.

3:27ally, quote, does not advance Israel or America's goals. And that President Trump feels very badly about the location of this attack. Trump spoke to Netanyahu as well as Qatar's leaders and assured them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil in Qatar. The White House did say that eliminating Hamas was a worthy goal, however. But there has been condemnation from the UN Secretary General, from the leaders of France and the UK, and also Arab countries. Really interesting to hear a little bit of daylight there between the Trump White House and Israel. I do want to ask about, you know, underlying all of this, of course, is the ongoing war in Gaza.

4:08What might this strike mean for the conflict in Gaza? And I guess I'm thinking specifically right now of consequences for Israel with hostages, Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza. I think it is early to predict how it will affect the course of the war. Israel has killed top leaders of Hamas throughout the war, and Hamas still has come to the negotiating table. This does come in a precarious time, though, Mary Louise. The U.S. had just offered a ceasefire proposal to Israel and Hamas. Now that looks unlikely to succeed. Hamas says it's holding the U.S. and Israel jointly responsible for today's strike.

4:44And there are 20 hostages still believed to be alive in Gaza. We don't know what this will mean in terms of any kind of chance for a hostage deal. It's NPR's Daniel Estrin speaking to Mary Louise Kelly.

5:06And that's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening.