Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Tuesday that Israel has carried out an attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar.
"Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility," Netanyahu said.
In a statement on X, Netanyahu's office added the strike was "a wholly independent Israeli operation" against the leadership of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
Israel's military confirmed it targeted senior Hamas political leaders in Doha, accusing them of directing operations behind the group's October 7, 2023 attack on the country.
Journalists in the Qatari capital saw smoke rising behind a low-rise building after the strike.
Qatar condemned the attack, saying residential buildings housing members of Hamas's political bureau had been hit. "The State of Qatar strongly condemns the cowardly Israeli attack," foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said on X.
A Hamas official in Gaza told AFP that negotiators based in Doha had been "targeted" during the strikes. Two Hamas sources told Reuters that its negotiation team survived the attack.
The US Embassy in Qatar issued a shelter-in-place order following reports of the attack, warning American citizens in Doha to take immediate precautions.
The strike comes less than two weeks after Israel's armed forces chief vowed to pursue Hamas leaders abroad.
"Most of Hamas's leadership is abroad, and we will reach them as well," Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said on August 31.
