Hamas says five of its members were killed in Israeli attack on Doha
The official statement named five individuals, including Humam al-Hayya, the son of Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya. They also said that the attack “failed.”
Hamas said on Tuesday that five of its members had been killed in an Israeli attack in Doha, including the son of Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya.
The official statement named the following individuals: Jihad Labad, the director of Hayya’s office; Humam al-Hayya, the son of Hayya; Abdullah Abdul Wahid; Moamen Hassouna; and Ahmed al-Mamluk. These last three were only named as “members of Hamas”.
The terror group also claimed that Israel had failed in what it called an attempt to assassinate the group’s ceasefire negotiation team.
Earlier, Hamas political bureau member Suhail al-Hindi told Al Jazeera TV that the group’s top leadership had survived the Israeli attack.
From Left: Hamas leaders Khalil al-Hayya, Khaled Mashaal, and Zaher Jabarin. (credit: NASEEM ZEITOON/REUTERS, SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT, YAMAM AL SHAAR/REUTERS)
Israel strikes Hamas leadership in Qatar
Israel struck the Hamas leadership in Doha, with different reports saying that between 4 and 8 Hamas officials were present during the strike.
Israeli sources told the Jerusalem Post that senior Hamas officials were killed in the strike in Doha, with them believing that there were between four and eight senior officials in the secret apartment of al-Hayya at the moment it was bombed.
Overall, the security establishment was optimistic about the success of the attack, saying that the results looked good, but the specifics were still unclear.
Some reports said thatthe US was told by Israel about the operation before the attack, while others that it was told only after the attack was already underway.
According to the military and the Shin Bet, special measures were taken to avoid harming anyone other than the top Hamas leaders, based on precise intelligence and munitions.
In fact, if multiple Hamas officials survived, it could be because a less powerful munition was used, and if a larger munition had been used, they might all have been killed.
Yonah Jeremy Bob and Amichai Stein contributed to this report.
