Live updates: Hamas says top leaders survived Israeli strike on Qatar while five lower-ranking members were killed

Israel launched a strike on Hamas’ leadership in Qatar on Tuesday as they discussed a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, officials said.

EDITED BY BRIDGET BROWN AND ANDREA THOMAS

Updated 12:30 PM PDT, September 9, 2025

Hamas says its top leaders survived the Israeli strike on Qatar and that five lower-ranking members died.

A Qatari security personnel was also killed, the Hamas statement said.

Hamas, which has sometimes only confirmed the assassination of its leaders months later, offered no immediate proof its top leaders had survived.

Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas’ leadership in Qatar on Tuesday as they considered a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The strike on the territory of a U.S. ally marked a stunning escalation and risked upending talks aimed at winding down the war and freeing hostages.

What to know:

• The son of Hamas’ leader in Gaza killed in strike: The son of Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’ leader for Gaza and top negotiator, was killed along with the head of al-Hayya’s office, said Suheil al-Hindi, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, speaking to Al-Jazeera. A member of Qatar’s Internal Security Force was killed and others were wounded, Qatar’s Interior Ministry said.
• The US knew about the strike in advance: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that U.S. diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff passed along a warning to the Qataris once the White House was made aware of the strike. The U.S. military did not participate in the strikes, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. However, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari derided the warning, saying in a post on X that it came just as “the explosions from the Israeli strikes were being heard.”
• Qatar responds: Qatar condemned what it referred to as a “cowardly Israeli attack” on Hamas’ political headquarters in Doha. Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari called it a “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms.”

8 sec ago

EU says Israel broke international law in strike against Qatar

BY SAM MCNEIL

The European Union said the attack on Doha Tuesday might lead to more conflict in the Middle East in one of the strongest statements to date on from the 27-nation bloc.

“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,” said Anouar El Anouni, a spokesperson for the European Commission, in a statement posted online by the EU’s diplomatic corps.

“Any escalation of the war in Gaza must be avoided — it is in no one’s interest. We will continue to support all efforts towards a ceasefire in Gaza,” he said.

The EU has been riven by deep disagreements over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Mass protests have rocked European cities from Amsterdam to Barcelona calling for a ceasefire.

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28 min ago

Qatar calls Israeli attack a ‘blatant violation of international law’ in letter to the UN Security Council

BY FARNOUSH AMIRI

Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, the Qatari ambassador to the U.N., wrote that an investigation into the attack is underway and that the state “is taking necessary measures to contain its repercussions.”

“While the State of Qatar strongly condemns this assault, it confirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and the ongoing disruption of regional security, nor any act that targets its security and sovereignty,” she wrote in the letter obtained by The Associated Press.

The ambassador did not request for the 15-member council to hold an emergency meeting as is often done after major escalations.

31 min ago

Iranian foreign minister calls Israeli attack on Doha a ‘cowardly crime’

BY FAY ABUELGASIM

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the attack “in the strongest terms.”

He urged the United Nations and the international community to stop Israel and save the world from these “unprecedented threats by the Israeli regime on the peace and security of the region.”

He was speaking at a news conference Tuesday after signing an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Cairo. The agreement paves the way for cooperation, including resuming inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

11:23 a.m. PDT

Germany says Israel’s strike on Doha was ‘unacceptable’

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in a statement that he’s very concerned about the safety of the hostages still held by Hamas.

Germany is a staunch ally of Israel, though in recent months it has become increasingly critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“Israel’s attack in Doha not only violates the territorial sovereignty of Qatar, but also endangers all our efforts for the release of the hostages,” Wadephul said.

“This strike is unacceptable,” he said.

He said he has voiced his concern about the lives and safety of hostages held by Hamas, including German citizens, in a phone call with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.

Wadephul said he spoke to his Qatari counterpart and expressed his “solidarity” and recognition of efforts to secure a ceasefire and the release of the hostages.

11:12 a.m. PDT

Morocco denounces Israeli violation of Qatar’s sovereignty

BY ANGELA CHARLTON

“Morocco reiterates its full solidarity with Qatar against anything liable to jeopardize its security, its territorial integrity and the peace of its citizens and residents,” Morocco’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Morocco, which maintains ties with Qatar and Israel, was the fourth Arab country to normalize relations with Israel under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords in late 2020, in exchange for U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara.

Morocco’s group of action for Palestine, a coalition of activists, announced an urgent protest Tuesday in front of the parliament to denounce the attack in Doha.