When Israel announced Tuesday that it had launched a strike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar, the Mossad was notably absent from official statements.
According to two Israelis familiar with the matter, who spoke with the Washington Post on condition of anonymity, the reason was that the Mossad had refused to implement the plan it had drawn up in recent weeks. That plan called for using agents in the field to assassinate Hamas leaders.
The agency's reservations about a ground operation ultimately influenced how the strike was carried out, and possibly its chances of success. They also reflected broader resistance within Israel's security establishment to an operation ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
While Israeli security officials broadly agree on the goal of hunting down and eventually killing all Hamas leaders, including those abroad, many questioned the timing. Hamas officials were gathering in Qatar, a key US ally, and were considering a proposal from US President Donald Trump for a hostage release deal in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire.
Instead of deploying Mossad operatives, Israel turned Tuesday to a secondary option: dispatching 15 fighter jets to launch 10 missiles from a distance. Hamas said the airstrike failed to kill senior leaders, including de facto leader Khalil al-Hayya.
Instead, Hamas said, the strike killed several relatives and aides of the delegation, as well as a Qatari officer. Israeli officials have so far declined to publicly share their assessment of the outcome, though one person familiar with the operation said that "Israel didn't get who it wanted."
It is unclear whether a ground operation would have been more successful. Last year, Mossad operatives planted a bomb in the Tehran bedroom of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, killing him. "This time, the Mossad wasn't prepared to do it on the ground," said one Israeli familiar with the matter, adding that the agency viewed Qatar as an important mediator in talks with Hamas.
Another Israeli familiar with the agency's opposition questioned Netanyahu's timing. "We can get them in a year, two, or four, and the Mossad knows how to do it," the Israeli said, referring to covert assassinations of Hamas leaders anywhere in the world. "Why do it now?"
Several officials said Netanyahu, who is moving toward a full-scale ground invasion of Gaza City, may have lost patience with ceasefire negotiations.
