In the weeks before Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday, Egyptian and Turkish officials conveyed “vague but serious” warnings to Hamas officials in Qatar to increase security at their meetings, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Despite the warnings, Hamas officials continued to convene in Doha, where they were targeted in Wednesday’s unprecedented attack.

Hamas leaders tended to move between Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, but in the days leading up to the operation, they convened in the Qatari capital in the same building where they celebrated the October 7 massacre. 

The report detailed that 10 Israeli fighter jets fired precise long-range missiles from outside Qatari airspace at the building and without entering the airspace of Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s final decision approving the operation, after months of preparations, was made after convening with the heads of the security establishment on Tuesday at midday. Senior Mossad officials were reportedly against the attack.

The IDF updated the US military a few minutes before the launch but did not detail the target of the attack. US military officials inferred the target themselves after identifying the missile launch.

President Donald Trump immediately issued an order for Qatar to be informed of the attack, and senior diplomatic officials launched efforts to appease Qatar—a key US ally that hosts senior Hamas officials with tacit approval.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)