Israeli officials quoted anonymously in several Hebrew-language news sites appeared on Wednesday to cast increasing doubt on the success of a strike in Qatar targeting the leaders of the Hamas a day earlier.
“Right now there’s no indication that the terrorists were killed,” an anonymous source was quoted telling Channel 12 news. “We continue to hope they were assassinated, but optimism is fading.”
Similar sentiments have been reported by the Kan public broadcaster.
In Ynet, Ronen Bergman wrote that two sources from the defense and intelligence community told him that, in his words, they are “pessimistic regarding the lethality of the strike on most of the targets, and perhaps all of them.” He added that a battle damage assessment is ongoing.
Bergman noted however, that another source noted that “at least one part of the mission was accomplished: striking fear into the hearts of Hamas’s political leaders.”
Hamas said in a statement Tuesday that its top leaders survived the strike but that five members were martyred, including the son of Khalil Al-Hayya — Hamas’s leader for Gaza and its top negotiator — as well as three bodyguards and the head of Al-Hayya’s office.
Israeli media reported the strike was carried out using 15 Israeli fighter jets, firing 10 munitions against a single target. Witnesses in Doha said they heard as many as eight separate explosions.
Breaking | An Israeli air strike targets the leaders of Hamas in Doha city, Qatar. pic.twitter.com/GGQTKjaUiE
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) September 9, 2025
Source: Israeli media
