Qatar said it has the right to respond to Israel’s strike in Doha that targeted Hamas political leaders, which it decried as a “blatant attack”.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister, described Tuesday’s attack as “state terrorism” that targeted the security and stability of the region.
“Qatar… reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack,” he told a late night press conference.
“We believe that today we have reached a pivotal moment. There must be a response from the entire region to such barbaric actions.”
US president Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy” about Israel’s airstrike that killed six people, saying it advances neither Israel nor America's goals.
Trump called the strike on Hamas's political wing "unfortunate" and said he had directed US envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar but it was too late to stop the strike.
Hamas said five of its lower-ranking members and a Qatari security official were killed in the airstrike, but that all its leaders survived the attack.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the strike on Qatar was “entirely justified”.
Israel strike Hamas in Qatar: Key points
- Qatar PM says country 'has right to respond' to Israel's attack
- 'We will put our bilateral support for Israel on hold': Von der Leyen
- Who is Khalil Al-Hayya? The top Hamas figure targeted
- Trump gently rebukes Israel for striking US ally in zeal to get Hamas
- Israeli warning to the US described as vague
Analysis: The Middle East is on the brink of an abyss
23:00
,
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew
Completely unprecedented.
This was the two-word description voiced to me by a shocked diplomat in the Middle East in the immediate aftermath of Israel’s extraordinary missile strike on Qatar this afternoon.
These strikes set Israel firmly against Qatar and make Doha – once a main meeting point and venue for truce negotiations – now a new theatre of war in the Gaza conflict, writes chief international correspondent Bel Trew.
Airstrike breaches international law – EU
22:30
,
Steffie Banatvala
#Israel/#Qatar: Statement by the Spokesman
— Anouar El Anouni (@AnouarEUspox) September 9, 2025
Today’s airstrike by Israel against Hamas leaders in Doha breaches international law and Qatar’s territorial integrity, and risks a further escalation of violence in the region.https://t.co/ZOz9qeVoBs
Mapped: Which countries has Israel attacked since 7 October 2023?
22:00
,
Steffie Banatvala
Watch: Pro-Palestine protesters gather opposite Downing Street ahead of Israeli president's UK visit
21:30
,
Steffie Banatvala
Will Qatar regret gifting $400m ‘palace in the sky’ jet to Trump after Israel’s attack in Doha?
21:00
,
Steffie Banatvala
The US President caused ethics uproar in Washington this spring by accepting the plane and, just months later, the emirate is reeling from a surprise airstrike carried out on its soil by a key U.S. ally.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s move into a country that had been considered a safe zone in the region has shocked its Gulf allies and placed a further strain on its relationship with Washington, which may feel its own security guarantees to Qatar have been violated by Netanyahu’s actions.
Pictures: UAE President visits Qatar after attack on Doha
20:30
,
Steffie Banatvala
Analysis: Israel deliberately targeted Hamas in Qatar as they blocked Gaza ceasefire, president says
20:00
,
Steffie Banatvala
Isaac Herzog insisted the targeting of Hamas in Doha was because its negotiators refused to work towards a deal over Gaza.
Speaking in a briefing, Mr Herzog said: “We targeted those who refused to accept the deal, including primarily, al-Hayya whose hands carried the blood of thousands of Israelis.”
Mapped: Where was Israel's strike on Qatar?
19:30
,
Steffie Banatvala
Who is Khalil Al-Hayya? The top Hamas figure targeted
19:00
,
Steffie Banatvala
Israel's last attack Houthis was less than a fortnight ago
18:00
,
Daniel Keane
Israel’s latest attack on the Houthis came days after an August 30 strike on Sanaa killed the prime minister of the Houthi-run government and several ministers.
It was the first assault to target senior officials.
"The strikes were carried out in response to attacks led by the Houthi terror regime against the State of Israel, during which unmanned aerial vehicles and surface-to-surface missiles were launched toward Israeli territory," the Israeli military said.
Pictured: Flames burn in Yemeni capital after Israeli strike
17:40
,
Daniel Keane
Saudi Arabia condemns attack on Doha
17:10
,
Daniel Keane
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said that the kingdom rejected and condemned Israel's "assaults" in the region, the latest being Tuesday's attack on Doha.
"The brutal aggression against the sisterly state of Qatar requires Arab, Islamic and international action," he said in a televised address.
Israel will kill Hamas leaders next time if they survived attack, says Israeli official
16:50
,
Daniel Keane
Israel will kill the leaders of Hamas if they survived an Israeli airstrike on Qatar, the country’s ambassador to the US has said.
"Right now, we may be subject to a little bit of criticism. They'll get over it. And Israel is being changed for the better," Yechiel Leiter told Fox News' "Special Report" programme late on Tuesday.
"If we didn't get them this time, we'll get them the next time," Leiter said.
IDF's statement on Yemen strikes on X
16:20
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Taz Ali
⭕️The IDF struck military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime in the areas of Sanaa and Al Jawf in Yemen.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 10, 2025
Among the targets struck:
• Military camps in which the Houthi regime gathered intelligence, and planned & executed terrorist attacks against Israel.
• A…
IDF says it bombed Houthi targets in Yemen
16:03
,
Taz Ali
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said its warplanes struck military targets belonging to the Houthi rebels in the Yemini capital Sanaa and northern province of Al Jawf.
Among the targets were military camps, a fuel storage facility and what the IDF described as a Houthi PR department.
“The strikes were conducted in response to repeated attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis, including launching UAVs [ unmanned aerial vehicles] and surface-to-surface missiles toward Israeli territory,” the IDF said in a post on X on Wednesday.
ICYMI: EU leader calls for sanctions against Israel
16:00
,
Taz Ali
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she will seek sanctions and a partial trade suspension against Israel over the war in Gaza.
The 27-nation EU is deeply divided in its approach to Israel, and it is unclear whether a majority will be found to endorse the sanctions and trade measures.
Von der Leyen said she plans to freeze the Commission’s support to Israel, which would not require the approval of member countries.
It was not immediately clear how much financial support the EU’s executive branch provides to Israel and what it is used for.
"We will put our bilateral support to Israel on hold,” Von der Leyen said.
“We will stop all payments in these areas, without affecting our work with Israeli civil society or Yad Vashem," she added, referring to Israel’s Holocaust memorial.
Photos emerge of reported Israeli strike in Yemen capital
15:30
,
Taz Ali
Israel military strikes Yemen's capital - reports
15:21
,
Taz Ali
Israel has launched attacks in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, according to the Houthi-run Saba news agency.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said air defences intercepted Israeli aircraft launching an attack on Yemen, the news agency reported. No further details were provided.
The Israeli military has not commented on the reports.
Israel's attack on Doha threatens ceasefire negotiations, analysts say
14:50
,
Taz Ali
The attack on Hamas in Qatar threatens to upend Gaza ceasefire talks, analysts at The Soufan Centre, a New York-based think tank, have said.
"The attack has profound strategic implications because by striking a Gulf Cooperation Council state, Israel risks undermining the Abraham Accords and unravelling the fragile normalisation framework with Arab partners," they said, referring to the 2020 diplomatic recognition deal between Israel and the UAE, which neighbours Qatar.
“Israel's strike on Qatar raises the uncomfortable question: if a state like Qatar, with its carefully cultivated neutrality and commitment to peace-making, is punished for its role, who will dare step into the vacuum of mediation in the future?"
Starmer reiterates condemnation of Israel’s strike in Qatar
14:30
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Taz Ali
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated his condemnation of Israel’s strike on Doha.
"They violate Qatar's sovereignty; they do nothing to secure the peace that the UK and so many of our allies are committed to," he said during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
He said he spoke to the Qatari emir "soon after the attack, to convey our support and solidarity".
Picture: UAE president meets Emir of Qatar
14:10
,
Taz Ali
Growing global recognition of Palestinian statehood undermined US efforts to release Israeli-held funds, envoy says
13:50
,
Taz Ali
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, claimed the global push to recognise a Palestinian state led to the collapse of US efforts to persuade Israel to release much-needed funds to the Palestinian Authority.
"I felt like we were making progress. We weren't quite there yet, but we were talking, and there was progress, and there was understanding of the importance of getting it resolved," he told Reuters.
According to the Palestinian Authority, which has limited control in the occupied West Bank, Israel is withholding around $3bn (£2.2bn) in revenues. Under a longstanding arrangement, Israel collects customs and import taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
Israel deliberately targeted Hamas in Qatar as they blocked Gaza ceasefire, president says
13:30
,
Taz Ali
Isaac Herzog insisted the targeting of Hamas in Doha was because its negotiators refused to work towards a deal with Gaza.
Rights groups file case in Germany against soldier over suspected Gaza war crimes
13:10
,
Taz Ali
Human rights lawyers say they have filed a lawsuit in Germany against an Israeli soldier suspected of being involved in the targeted killing of unarmed Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and three Palestinian human rights organisations said they filed a criminal complaint with Germany's federal prosecutor against a sniper in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
ECCHR said the 25-year-old soldier was born and raised in Munich and had a registered residence in Germany until recently, but could not confirm that the man had dual citizenship.
The soldier allegedly belonged to the so-called “Ghost Unit” of the 202nd Paratroopers Battalion, which the ECCHR says it has evidence indicating that its members have deliberately killed civilians in Gaza.
Qatar says it will launch legal proceedings against Israel over Doha attack
12:50
,
Taz Ali
Qatar announced it has formed a legal team to prepare a response to Israel's attack on Doha.
“His Excellency revealed that a legal team has been formed... to initiate all legal proceedings against what he described as a rogue act,” Qatar’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement on Wednesday, referring to remarks made by the Qatari prime minister.
It added: “His Excellency pointed out that the attack not only violated international law but also ethical and humanitarian standards, particularly as Qatar was officially hosting negotiations with US involvement and Israeli awareness.
“He described it as an act of treachery, noting that such behaviour reflects [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s disregard for regional stability in pursuit of personal ambitions.”
Picture: Keir Starmer speaks with Emir of Qatar
12:30
,
Taz Ali
Will Qatar regret gifting $400m ‘palace in the sky’ jet to Trump after Israel’s attack in Doha?
12:10
,
Taz Ali
An investigation earlier this year by The Free Press reported that Qatar has invested $100bn in improving relations with the US in recent years after Donald Trump alleged in June 2017 that the country “has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level”.
The outreach programme culminated with the president visiting in May and accepting a $400m luxury Boeing jumbo jet as a stand-in for Air Force One after complaining about the length of time it was taking the US aircraft giant to build replacements commissioned under Barack Obama in 2015. The plane is so lavish it has been dubbed the ‘palace in the sky’.
Joe Sommerlad reports.
Qatar PM says country 'has right to respond' to Israel's attack
11:50
,
Taz Ali
The Qatari prime minister said his country reserves the right to respond to Israel’s “blatant attack” on Doha.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani described Tuesday’s strike against Hamas political leaders in the Qatari capital as “state terrorism”, saying it was an “attempt to destabilise regional security and stability”.
“Qatar… reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack,” he told a late night press conference.
"This attack, which is state terrorism practiced by a person like [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, is a message to the entire region that there is a rogue player in the region.
“Netanyahu declared that he would reshape the Middle East, will he also reshape the Gulf?... the response must come from the entire region to confront the barbarism of this man who is leading the region to a point beyond repair.”
Arab leaders to arrive in Qatar following Israeli strike in Doha
11:30
,
Taz Ali
UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein are expected to visit Qatar on Wednesday, an official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to arrive in Doha on Thursday.
Pictures: Israel strikes another high-rise building in Gaza City as attacks continue
11:10
,
Taz Ali
Israeli sources said to be doubtful of Qatar strike’s success
10:50
,
Taz Ali
Israeli officials have cast doubt on the success of the strike in Qatar targeting Hamas political leaders, according to several Israeli media reports, citing anonymous sources.
“Right now there’s no indication that the terrorists were killed,” one source is quoted as saying by Israel’s Channel 12 news. “We continue to hope they were assassinated, but optimism is fading.”
Israeli news website Ynet reported two sources from the defence and intelligence community as saying they were “pessimistic regarding the lethality of the strike on most of the targets, and perhaps all of them”.
Hamas said in a statement on Tuesday that its top leaders survived the strike but that five members were killed, including the son of Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s leader for Gaza and its top negotiator.
‘If we didn’t get them this time, we’ll get them the next time,' says Israeli envoy to US
10:30
,
Taz Ali
If Israel did not kill Hamas leaders in an airstrike on Qatar it would succeed next time, the Israeli ambassador to the US said.
"Right now, we may be subject to a little bit of criticism,” Yechiel Leiter told Fox News on Tuesday night.
“They'll get over it. And Israel is being changed for the better.
"The region is being changed for the better as we remove these enemies of peace and these enemies of Western civilization from their ability to implement terrorism.
"If we didn't get them this time, we'll get them the next time.”
EU Commission chief outlines measures against Israel
10:14
,
Taz Ali
What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 10, 2025
Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war. This must stop.
EU aid to Gaza far outweighs that of any other partner.
But of course, Europe needs to do more.
Here are measures for a way forward ↓ pic.twitter.com/xnq8PkMduG
Russia condemns Israeli strike on Qatar as 'gross violation of international law'
09:27
,
Taz Ali
Russia has condemned the Israeli attack against Hamas members in Qatar.
"Russia considers this incident a gross violation of international law and the UN Charter, an encroachment on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent state, and a step leading to further escalation and destabilisation of the situation in the Middle East," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Such methods of fighting those whom Israel considers its enemies and opponents deserve the strongest condemnation."
'We will put our bilateral support for Israel on hold': Von der Leyen
09:16
,
Taz Ali
The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a partial suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, with a focus on trade-related matters.
“We will put our bilateral support to Israel on hold,” she told the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
“We will stop all payments in these areas - without affecting our work with Israeli civil society or Yad Vashem," she added, referring to Israel’s official Holocaust memorial centre.
She said the Commission will also propose sanctions “on the extremist ministers and on violent settlers” in Israel.
Israeli minister warns 'no place to hide'
09:00
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Defence minister Israel Katz, in a social media post, defended Tel Aviv's attack on Doha, claiming that Israel's "long arm will act against its enemies anywhere".
"There is no place where they can hide," he said on X, adding, "Anyone who was a partner in the October 7 massacre will be held fully accountable. Anyone who carries out terror against Israel will be struck."
Mr Katz added: "If the Hamas murderers and rapists do not accept Israel's conditions for ending the war, foremost among them the release of all the hostages and their disarmament - they will be annihilated and Gaza will be destroyed."
China 'deeply worried' after Israel's attack on Qatar
08:45
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
China's foreign ministry has condemned the Israeli strikes on Doha, saying it firmly opposes Israel's violation of Qatar's territorial sovereignty.
China is deeply worried that the strikes could lead to a possible escalation, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press conference.
Gaza’s journalists are being silenced as the world watches – who will tell our story?
08:30
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Last month, our tent in Gaza City was attacked by Israel, killing my colleagues Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, and four other journalists, writes Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief Wael al-Dahdouh.
How many more lives must be lost before the world pays attention?
'Nowhere safe to go', says non profit as Israel forces Palestinians to evacuate Gaza City
08:15
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has urged an international response to ensure a halt to Israel's siege of Gaza City in the coming days.
"After nearly two years of ongoing hostilities in Gaza, starvation, and repeated forced displacement, there is simply nowhere safe to go. Panic is spreading," said DRC secretary general Charlotte Slente.
Israel's military told Gaza City residents yesterday to evacuate ahead of its planned offensive to take control of what it portrays as Hamas' last remaining stronghold and where hundreds of thousands of people remain struggling under conditions of famine.
Ms Slente said: "Orders to move south toward Al-Mawasi - an area falsely described as a "humanitarian zone" - means putting lives at further risk: the area is already overwhelmed, lacking food, water, shelter and the most basic conditions for human survival. Civilians in Al-Mawasi have been killed in strikes in recent months."
She added: "Families are being pushed into an impossible choice; flee under fire into areas already overcrowded and stripped of food, or remain where they face the same hunger, relentless bombardment and despair. Either way, civilians are condemned to famine, terror and death."
Israel demolishes 50 high-rise buildings in Gaza City
08:00
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Israel says it has demolished 50 high-rise buildings in Gaza in the past two days after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's forces told Gaza City residents to evacuate ahead of a planned offensive to take control of the city.
Alerts issued by the Israeli military yesterday morning were the first to call for a full evacuation of Gaza City. Until now, the military has only told specific sections of the northern city to evacuate ahead of operations or strikes.
Israeli leaders accused Hamas of using the buildings for military infrastructure. Mr Netanyahu said demolishing the high-rises was "only the beginning of the main intensive operation – the ground incursion of our forces".
Many families remained stuck in the city because of the cost of finding transportation and housing, said Site Management Cluster, which uses eyewitness accounts, social media and information from on the ground to track displacements.
"We were displaced two days ago, and here we are, my wife and I, unfortunately, sleeping in the street," said Hazem Abu Reyash. "There's no shelter, no tent, nothing, no water, no food."
Israel demolishes dozens of high-rise buildings in Gaza
07:43
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The Middle East is on the brink of an abyss
07:20
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Completely unprecedented.
This was the two-word description voiced to me by a shocked diplomat in the Middle East in the immediate aftermath of Israel’s extraordinary missile strike on Qatar this afternoon.
This is a corner of the world that has weathered shock after shock over the last 23 months, a region repeatedly on the brink of protracted and dangerous total war.
But Israeli strikes in the heart of the Qatari capital, which the Israeli military said were targeting Hamas leadership even as truce talks were allegedly underway, push it to the very edge of an abyss.
These strikes set Israel firmly against Qatar and make Doha – once a main meeting point and venue for truce negotiations – now a new theatre of war in the Gaza conflict, writes chief international correspondent Bel Trew.
Mapped: All the countries Israel has attacked in the Middle East since 7 October 2023
07:00
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Israel launched an airstrike targeting Hamas's leadership in capital of Qatar on Tuesday, widening its campaign against the militant group.
Hamas said of its leaders survived the attack but that five lower-ranked members were killed, and Qatar said a security official died and others were wounded.
The attack drew fierce condemnation from a string of countries, including the UK, Egypt, Germany, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Canada. The EU said the airstrike was in breach of international law.
Qatar is the sixth country Israel has attacked since the Hamas massacre on 7 October 2023, when around 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 taken hostage. The terror attack prompted a major onslaught on Gaza in which Israel has killed around 65,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and destroyed large parts of the strip.
Qatar 'working with US' to prevent further attacks
06:58
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Qatari officials are working with the US to prevent any further Israeli attacks on their soil, foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told Al Jazeera this morning.
Mr Ansari said that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent “a very clear message” to any country that engages in peace efforts, even those that help Israel when captives are taken, that “mediators will be scapegoated, will not be safe, and there will be no respect for the sanctity of their job”.
He added that the attack was not only an infringement on Qatar’s sovereignty, but also an attack on international norms and humanitarian law.“But, obviously, this will not deter Qatar from being a country that works towards peace."
Malaysia joins scores of nations in condemning Israel
06:40
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Malaysia this morning issued a statement condemning the Israeli airstrike on Doha "in the strongest possible terms".
"This wanton act of aggression is a blatant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and a grave breach of international law. It recklessly endangers civilian lives, strikes at the very heart of a sovereign capital, and threatens to inflame an already fragile region," prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said.
"By targeting Qatar — a nation central to mediation and dialogue in the Middle East — Israel has shown utter contempt for peace and diplomacy. Such an assault is indefensible and intolerable."
He added: "Malaysia stands in full solidarity with Qatar and calls on the international community to hold Israel accountable for this outrageous aggression."
'Will not happen again': Trump assures Qatar