Israel Still Targets Hamas Leaders Who Escape Attacks In Doha Qatar

Israeli Military/PHOTO via Instagram @Israeliairforce

Israel's ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said Israel was still targeting to kill Hamas leaders who escaped in airstrikes in Qatar.

"Right now, we're probably going to receive a little criticism. They're going to forget about it and Israel is turning out to be better," Yechiel Leiter said in Fox News' "Special Report" program on Tuesday night.

"This area is being changed for the better as we get rid of these enemies of peace and Western civilization's enemies from their ability to implement terrorism," he said.

Israel attempted to killHamaspolitical leaders with an attack on the Qatar capital, Doha, on Tuesday, escalating its military action in the Middle East in what the US described as a unilateral attack that did not advance the interests of America and Israel.

The operation is very sensitive as Qatar, as a mediator, has hosted negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war that has been raging for nearly two years.

"If we don't catch them this time, we'll catch them next time," Leiter said.

Hamas said five of its members were killed in the attack, including the son of the exiled Gaza head and its main negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya.

Hamas' political bureau member, Suhail al-Hindi, told Al Jazeera TV the group's supreme leaders survived the attack.

A senior Israeli official stressed optimism about the outcome of the attack has turned into doubt. The fact that so many hours without a clear conclusion is deeply troubling, especially in an orderly country like Qatar, the official said.

Qatar, who said one of its security forces was killed in the attack, said Israel was dangerous and involved in "state terrorism."

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said the airstrike threatened to thwart the peace negotiations Qatar has mediated between Hamas and Israel.

The airstrikes follow Israeli warnings to Palestinians to leave Gaza City, an area that was once inhabited by about one million people, as Israel seeks to destroy the remains of Hamas, which has been destroyed by the Israeli military since October 2023.

US President Donald Trump said he was "very unhappy with every aspect" of the Israeli attack.

When asked how the attack on Qatar, which failed to kill Hamas leaders, would affect ceasefire negotiations, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he did not know.

"The honest answer is, we don't know. Hamas has rejected everything so far. They constantly reject every proposed offer," he said.

He then reiterated the positions of the US and Israel, Hamas militants "must leave" and should have no future in ruling Gaza.

The militant group, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but currently only controls parts of the region.