GAZA CITY/DOHA: Israeli strikes killed more than 50 Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, the enclave’s health ministry said, a day after a rare attack in Qatar’s capital Doha targeting Hamas leaders drew widespread global condemnation.
The latest bombardment in Gaza came as attention focused on Israel’s attack in Doha, which Hamas said killed six people, including the son of its lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, but its senior leadership remained unharmed.
Qatar condemned the assault as “state terrorism” and a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty, with Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani warning that the Gulf state reserved the right to respond.
Deaths in Gaza
The Wafa news agency reported that nine Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza’s south were among those killed.
A drone strike hit a makeshift tent sheltering displaced families at Gaza’s port, killing two civilians and injuring others, according to Wafa.
Israeli warplanes also struck residential areas, destroying four homes in the al-Mukhabarat district and another in the Talbani neighbourhood of Deir al-Balah. Two men were reported killed in an attack on civilians in the az-Zarqa area of Tuffah.
The Palestinian Civil Defence said that in just 72 hours, five high-rise towers containing more than 200 apartments had been flattened, displacing thousands. It said more than 350 tents housing 7,600 people were also destroyed.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said al-Mawasi — a coastal strip designated by Israel as a “humanitarian zone” — had turned into a vast camp “concentrating hungry Palestinians in despair”.
“There is no safe place in Gaza, let alone a humanitarian zone. Warnings of famine have fallen on deaf ears,” he warned.
Israeli Strike in Qatar
The strike in Doha occurred on Tuesday in a residential district home to diplomats, schools and foreign missions.
Local media reported several explosions and smoke rising from the targeted area, which was quickly sealed off by security forces.
Qatar’s interior ministry confirmed the deaths of three people, including a Qatari security officer and the son of Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya. Hamas said three other people, including al-Hayya’s aide and two bodyguards, were also killed.
Sources cited by AFP said Hamas leaders Khalil al-Hayya, Khaled Meshaal and Zaher Jabarin were inside the building at the time but, Hamas stated that the leaders survived the attack.
A Hamas official said the group had been meeting to discuss a ceasefire proposal presented by US President Donald Trump.
‘Flagrant Violation’ of Qatar’s Sovereignty
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani told Trump in a phone call that his country would take “all necessary measures” to protect its sovereignty.
The Qatari foreign ministry said the US only informed Doha of the strike after the bombing had already begun.
“Statements circulating about Qatar being informed of the attack in advance are false,” spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said.
Trump later said he felt “very badly about the location of the attack” and stressed the decision was made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” he wrote on Truth Social.
The UN Secretary-General condemned the Doha strike as a “flagrant violation” of Qatar’s sovereignty and called for restraint.
Wider Impact
The incident marks the first time Israel has conducted a direct strike on Qatari soil. Qatar has hosted Hamas’s political bureau since 2012 and played a key mediation role in ceasefire efforts with backing from Washington.
The attack risks upending fragile truce negotiations and widening the war. “We believe that today we have reached a pivotal moment. There must be a response from the entire region to such barbaric actions,” the Qatari prime minister said.
Meanwhile, violence spread to the occupied West Bank, where Wafa reported that Israeli forces killed two teenagers in the Jenin refugee camp.
Since October 2023, more than 64,000 Palestinians — including some 20,000 children — have been killed in Israel’s offensive on Gaza, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
