Over ten Israeli fighter jets attacked Doha, the capital city of Qatar, to assassinate a group of key Hamas leaders and diplomats on Sept. 9. Hamas said that its top leaders survived the bombing unscathed, while five lower-ranking officers were killed, including Humam Al-Hayya and Jihad Labad, the son and office director of chief diplomat Khalil Al-Hayya.
Qatar’s primary role between Israel and Hamas has been to serve as one of the only functional Middle Eastern ceasefire negotiators between the two nations. Doha was the central hub for diplomacy and the strike from Israel may signal further intent to seek a belligerent solution.
U.N. Secretary Antonio Guterres condemned the siege, saying it was a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar.” National representatives from Sudan, Libya, Pakistan, Lebanon and other Arab nations condemned the attack. Britain acknowledged the attacks as violating “Qatar’s sovereignty and risk further escalation across the region.”
The attacks on Doha are a push by the Israel Defense Force to further stress the current ceasefire agreement signed with Palestine on Jan. 15.