D.C. – A high-ranking Israeli official has made a scary promise to keep going after Hamas leaders. They said, “If you survive this strike, we will kill you next time.” Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the US, made the comment after a very contentious air strike in Doha, Qatar, which was Israel’s failed attempt to kill important senior Hamas figures.
Leiter defended the operation on Fox News, saying that Israel was “being changed for the better” and that even though it could get “a little bit of criticism,” other countries “will get over it.” The comments show that the hit wasn’t a one-time thing and that Israel will keep going after Hamas leaders, even in countries that are trying to help end the fighting.
The air strike, which took place in a residential area of Doha, has been heavily criticized around the world. The US called the attack a one-sided operation that didn’t benefit either the US or Israel. Qatar, which has been very important in helping to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, has called the strike “treacherous” and an act of “state terrorism.” The incident also murdered a security guard from Qatar.
Hamas has acknowledged that five of its members were killed in the attack. One of them was Khalil al-Hayya’s son, who was the group’s leader and top negotiator in exile. But the group’s top political leaders, who were the main targets, lived through the murder attempt. Suhail al-Hindi, a member of Hamas’s political department, informed media that the leaders were safe.
Even while Israel hasn’t said anything official about the attack’s outcome, a high-ranking Israeli official told Reuters that the fact that there was no “clear conclusion” so many hours after the assault was “troubling.”
A statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after the operation indicated that it was a “wholly independent Israeli operation” against “top terrorist chieftains of Hamas.” The statement went on to say, “Israel started it, Israel carried it out, and Israel is fully responsible.”
The event has made the already stalled ceasefire talks much harder and made things worse between Israel and its diplomatic partners, especially Qatar.