A damaged building, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders, according to an Israeli official, in Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025. (REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

Qatar, a key security partner of the United States and host to al-Udeid Air Base, the largest US military facility in the Middle East, has acted as a mediator alongside Egypt in talks on a ceasefire in the almost two-year-old conflict in Gaza.

Israeli officials told Reuters the strike was aimed at top Hamas leaders including Khalil al-Hayya, its exiled Gaza chief and top negotiator. His son was killed in the attack, two Hamas sources told Reuters.

The airstrike took place shortly after Hamas' armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for a shooting on Monday that killed six people at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the Israeli attack on Doha. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was "entirely justified" and was ordered after Monday's Jerusalem attack and the loss of four Israeli soldiers in Gaza.