Arab media outlets reported Wednesday that senior Hamas officials in Qatar survived the Israeli strike after unexpectedly leaving their meeting room shortly before the attack.
According to those reports, the Hamas officials moved to another room to hold afternoon prayers. The same outlets claimed the officials left their mobile phones on the table, which allegedly misled Israeli tracking systems that rely on signal detection to identify assassination targets.
Still, many in the Arab world questioned why Hamas leaders have not appeared publicly to prove they are alive. Over the past day, several different versions of events have circulated. The Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the officials were actually staying in a separate residence, not the main building that was targeted, and that this is what saved them.
On Tuesday, the IDF and the Shin Bet security agency carried out a targeted strike against Hamas' senior leadership in Qatar in an operation named "Summit of Fire." Early Saudi reports said Hamas deputy leader Khalil al-Hayya was killed, along with other top officials including Zaher Jabarin, Khaled Mashaal and Nizar Awadallah. But a day later, Arab media said it was increasingly unlikely that the leaders had been eliminated.
The attack targeted Hamas' residential headquarters in Doha using precision-guided munitions intended to minimize civilian casualties. In response, Qatar announced it was suspending its mediation in ceasefire and hostage release talks until further notice. The Qatari Foreign Ministry condemned what it called a "cowardly Israeli strike" and claimed it violated international law.
