Israel has launched a strike on Hamas leaders in Doha just as they were meeting to discuss a new ceasefire proposal put forward by United States President Donald Trump — a plan the group was reportedly open to accepting. Explosions tore through the Katara district of the Qatari capital on Tuesday afternoon, with witnesses describing smoke rising into the sky.Hamas said that none of its leaders were killed in Tuesday’s attack.The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the attack in a joint statement with the Israeli Security Agency, saying it had conducted a “precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organisation”. The statement accused Hamas leaders based in Qatar of orchestrating the October 7 massacre and continuing to direct the war against Israel.Al Jazeera reported that the strike hit Hamas’s negotiating team, which was said to be reviewing Trump’s latest proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.Qatar has long hosted Hamas’s exiled leadership and played a key role in shuttle diplomacy, with Israeli and US officials travelling there for back-channel talks. The Gulf state also hosts the region’s largest American military base, raising the stakes of any attack on its territory.Qatar condemned the strike as a “cowardly” act and a flagrant violation of international law, confirming that an investigation at the highest level is under way. UN rapporteurs and analysts warned that killing negotiators in a neutral state not only breaches sovereignty but risks collapsing the only channel left for peace.The attack represents a serious escalation and the first time Israel has struck Hamas leaders in Doha. It is unclear what impact this extrajudicial killing will have on attempts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza. The timing also drew scrutiny in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was once again back in court facing corruption charges — proceedings that in the past have often coincided with sudden military escalations abroad.•