Israeli Strike on Hamas Leaders in Doha, a City Considered Extremely Safe, ‘Shuts the Doors of Diplomacy’

 Israeli Strike on Hamas Leaders in Doha, a City Considered Extremely Safe, ‘Shuts the Doors of Diplomacy’

Israeli Strike on Hamas Leaders in Doha

Almost a year ago, I interviewed Hamas leader and chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya in Doha. I met him in a house not far from the building that Israel struck on Tuesday night.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, Khalil al-Hayya has been Hamas’s main negotiator. He would send and receive messages to the Israelis and Americans through Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

And now, at a moment when the chances of a ceasefire were beginning to appear, Khalil al-Hayya and his colleagues have been targeted. They were only a short distance away from Israeli and American delegations.

At the time of the attack, Khalil al-Hayya and Hamas’s senior leadership were discussing a new American diplomatic proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages.

Israel’s announcement of the strike in Doha immediately fueled speculation on social media that the American proposal was nothing more than a pretext to gather Hamas leaders in one place in order to target them.

On October 3, last year, Khalil al-Hayya walked into a small house to meet me. I was surprised at how little security he had with him. Before the meeting, we had to hand over our phones, and only two bodyguards accompanied him into the house.

Outside, Qatari police officers sat in an SUV, smoking cigarettes. That was the entirety of Khalil’s security. Even a hundred bodyguards could not have stopped an airstrike, yet Khalil al-Hayya and his colleagues were calm and confident. The reason was that Qatar was considered a safe place, where they could move around with ease.

Adnan

On July 31, 2024, Israel killed Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political leader who was in Tehran at the time. He was leaving after attending the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Adnan

During the Gaza war, I wondered whether sitting in the same room as Khalil al-Hayya might be dangerous. But at that time, I, too, believed that Qatar was safe.