Planet Labs has collected satellite images that show just the level of precision in yesterday’s unprecedented Israeli airstrike on a Hamas compound in Doha, Qatar. The IAF hit a compound where negotiators for the terror group were meeting to consider a Gaza ceasefire proposal put forth by the U.S. government. You can read our initial reporting on that incident here.
The images offer views of what that compound looked like before and after the attack. The one taken after the attack shows it was confined to a cluster of five buildings without damage to surrounding structures. The building in the lower right corner of the compound appears to have suffered the most damage, but other areas of the compound are clearly affected too. This includes a small structure that sits near a pool being destroyed. The buildings right next to the compound seemed to have emerged largely unscathed.
You can see a street view of the strike in the following video.
Israeli officials said the Doha strike was carried out by 15 Israeli fighter jets, firing 10 precision munitions against a single target, the BBC reported, citing Israeli media. We don’t know at the moment what weapons were used.
Qatar and its U.S. guests have very advanced air defense systems and sensors that would provide prior alert to an impending attack, in most circumstances. With standoff munitions launched at distance the most likely means of attack, why there was no attempt to intercept these weapons if they were of unknown origin isn’t clear. The use of F-35s is possible here, as well, which may have been able to make closer proximity standoff attacks, but Israel has F-15 and F-16-launched weapons capable of reaching hundreds of miles and strike with pinpoint accuracy.
The U.S. military spotted Israeli jets flying east toward the Persian Gulf but had little time to react, according to Axios.
“The U.S. sought clarification, but by the time Israel provided it, missiles were already in the air,” the publication reported, citing three U.S. officials.
At the same time, U.S. President Donald Trump “was informed of the impending strike by his military and alerted Qatar’s leadership,” White House spokesperson Karonline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.
So exactly what the U.S. knew about the impending strike and when, and when Qatar was informed, remains disputed at this time.
Qatari officials complained that they only found out about the attack after it took place. Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said notification from the U.S. only came after explosions were heard in Doha. He did not address why his nation’s air defense system did not pick up the Israeli jets.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, however, said Israeli jets went undetected by radar.
The Iranian Press TV news outlet questioned why “with many air defense systems present”…the U.S. hadn’t “fired a single shot to defend Qatar against the Israeli invasion.” The U.S. military’s largest salvo of Patriot interceptors took place at Al Udeid back in June, defending against an Iranian missile barrage. You can read more about that here.
As we previously reported, the widely condemned strike targeted Hamas leadership but killed five lower-level Hamas negotiators instead. Now it appears some Israeli officials are trying to distance themselves from that attack.
“Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, who has led Israel’s ceasefire negotiations for months, told U.S. officials that he was unaware of the specific strike plan when he met with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff one day earlier, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing anonymous officials.
“David Barnea, the Mossad director who has played a key role in ceasefire talks, told US and Qatari mediators that he had no prior knowledge of the strikes and learned about them as they took place,” the network added. “But two other Israeli sources familiar with the discussions told CNN that Barnea was aware of the plans and had questioned the wisdom of carrying out the strikes at the same time as the U.S. was launching a new attempt to restart negotiations.
As the cable network noted, it is “highly unlikely that either official would have been unaware of the planning and decision-making to carry out such a high-profile strike.”
In an exclusive interview with CNN on Wednesday, Al Thani expressed outrage at the attack, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “needs to be brought to justice,” and that Arab nations were working on what steps to take next.
“There is a response that will happen from the region,” he told the network. “This response is currently under consultation and discussion with other partners in the region,” Al Thani said. An Arab-Islamic summit will be held in Doha in the coming days, where the participants will decide on a course of action.”
Al Thani added that Netanyahu is “trying to undermine any chance of stability, any chance of peace” by attacking Hamas’ leadership in Doha. All this leaves the future of negotiations between Israel and Hamas in doubt. Israel is planning a full-scale ground assault on the Palestinian enclave, where tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in constant bombardment. These attacks follow the surprise Hamas incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed more than 1,200 and resulted in the capture of hundreds of hostages, some still in Gaza.
Meanwhile, a day after the Qatar strike, Israel said it carried out airstrikes on targets in Yemen belonging to the Houthi rebels.
“A short while ago, the IAF struck military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime in the areas of Sanaa and Al Jawf in Yemen,” the IDF said on Telegram. “Among the targets struck are military camps in which operatives of the terrorist regime were identified, the Houthis’ Military Public Relations Headquarters, and a fuel storage facility that was used by the terrorist regime for terrorist activity.”
The IDF claimed that the airstrikes were “conducted in response to attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel, including launching UAVs and surface-to-surface missiles toward Israeli territory.”
Israel justified its attack by saying that the Houthis’ public relations department is “responsible for distributing and disseminating propaganda messages in the media, including speeches of Houthis leader Abd al-Malik and spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree’s statements. During the war, the headquarters led the propaganda efforts and the terrorist regime’s psychological terror.”
The military camps that were struck “served the Houthi regime to plan and execute terrorist attacks against the State of Israel,” the IDF claimed. “Additionally, the military camps included operation and intelligence rooms.”
The Houthis claim without proof that they deflected most of the attack.
“Our air defenses were able to launch a number of surface-to-air missiles during the confrontation of the Zionist aggression on our country, forcing some combat formations to retreat before carrying out their aggression, and thwarting the majority of the attack, thanks to God,” Saree, a target of the airstrike, stated on X. You can read more about the Houthis’ air defenses in our deep dive here.
Video and images emerged on social media showing explosions in the Yemeni capital, followed by flames and trails of smoke.
This is the latest in a series of attacks Israel has carried out against the Houthis in response to the Iranian-backed rebel group’s firing missiles and drones at Israel. The Houthis say they are supporting Hamas and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and on Sunday, sent a drone that breached Israel’s vaunted multilayered air defenses and slammed into the country’s southern airport. You can see a video of that incident below.
The mystery as to how Israel pulled off its strike in Qatar remains unsolved at this time, but hopefully we will learn more in the coming days about what was truly an unprecedented and highly controversial operation.
Contact the author: [email protected]