Israel calls strike in Doha ‘Summit of Fire’ says it targeted Hamas leadership

Qatar had been playing a key role in the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas to end the ongoing war in Gaza.

By: Express Web Desk
Updated: September 9, 2025 08:45 PM IST

2 min read

Israel calls strike in Doha ‘Day of Judgement’ says it targeted Hamas leadership

Israeli attack targeted the Hamas negotiating team while they were meeting. (Photo: X)

Israel on Tuesday confirmed that the country launched a strike targeting Hamas’ leadership in Qatar’s capital, Doha. Khalil al-Hayya, the leader of Hamas, is said to be one of the targets of the operations. The fate of al-Hayya and other Hamas leaders including Khaled Mashal, Muhammad Darwish, Razi Hamad and Izzat al-Rishq who were also present at the location was not immediately clear.

Qatar condemns, Israel celebrate

Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari called it a “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms.”

Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich praised the Doha attack, calling it the “correct decision”.

“Terrorists have no and will have no immunity from the long arm of Israel anywhere in the world,” Smotrich said in a social media post.

Summit of Fire

The operation in Doha has officially been named ‘Summit of Fire’ by the Israeli military. Earlier, Israeli media had reported that the operation was codenamed “Atzeret HaDin,” which translates to Day of Judgment.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Intelligence Directorate chief Major General Shlomi Binder and other senior officials were at the command centre during the strike.

The strike targeting Hamas’s leadership was dubbed Summit of Fire (Photo: Shin Bet)

Israel attacked during Hams negotiators’ meeting

According to Qatari officials, the Israeli attack targeted the Hamas negotiating team while they were meeting to consider the latest ceasefire proposal put forth by the United States.

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“Hamas received the new US proposal from us, which we obtained from Witkoff last week in Paris. Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani met with Hamas negotiators yesterday. The Hamas delegation then decided to meet again today to discuss the proposal, traveling from Turkey to Qatar where the strike took place,” the official continues.

“However, as has happened before, the Israelis undermined hopes for peace, further prolonging the war and complicating efforts to bring back the hostages,” says the senior Qatari official in a statement.

Qatar had been playing a key role in the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas to end the ongoing war in Gaza and free the Israeli hostages.

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