Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says Israel's strike on Doha is a "flagrant violation of international law and an escalation that threatens regional security and stability".

A statement on X on behalf of Abbas says he emphasises "the importance of an immediate halt to this escalation" and warns that its continuation "would have repercussions not only on the region but on the entire world".

Questions about how and why Israel struck Doha rage across the regionpublished at 16:33 British Summer Time

16:33 BST

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

There was a time when Israel might have chosen to say nothing about an operation as audacious and fraught with political sensitivity as this.

But today, Israel chose to dispense with ambiguity, claiming responsibility for the attack even as the plumes of smoke rose above the Doha skyline.

But questions about the how and why are raging across the region.

The White House says it was informed of the operation, almost certainly because of the proximity of the huge US airbase at al-Udeid, just outside Doha.

But this means that Donald Trump had a chance to say no to Israel but chose to give a green light instead.

Israeli media says the operation involved 15 Israeli fighter jets, firing 10 munitions against a single target.

And then there’s the why. It’s been just two days since the Americans delivered their latest, rather sketchy proposals to end the war in Gaza.

It’s likely the targeted Hamas leaders were in the middle of discussing their formal response.

Israel, which had already predicted it would be negative, decided it didn’t want to hear it

A building that appears to have been damaged after an Israeli air strike in Doha, Qatar, is in a complex on Wadi Rawn Street, north of the city centre.

The complex comprises five buildings, three of which have swimming pools, and is next to a petrol station and car wash.

There's a secondary school further down the road, and the complex is within walking distance of several embassies.

Earlier, Qatar's interior ministry confirmed that "one of the residential headquarters of Hamas" were targeted in Doha.

A joint statement from Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defence Minister Israel Katz says that in the wake of attacks in Jerusalem and Gaza, the Israeli prime minister ordered his security agencies to prepare to target the Hamas leadership.

It says that this afternoon presented an operational opportunity and, with the full backing of Israel's defence leaders, the pair jointly decided to green-light the attack. It adds that the IDF and Shin Bet were informed of the plans for the attack last night.

The statement continues that Netanyahu and Katz believe the attack was justified due to the Hamas leadership being behind the 7 October 2023 attack and the shooting in Jerusalem yesterday.

Earlier today, Hamas claimed responsibility for the shooting, which killed six Israelis and left several other wounded.

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

Reports from Doha spoke of as many as eight separate explosions, with plumes of smoke rising above the city.

Within minutes, Israel took responsibility; the military saying this was a precise strike targeting the senior leadership of Hamas.

Israel initiated it, conducted it and takes full responsibility, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on social media. He called it a wholly independent Israeli operation, reacting perhaps to Israeli media reports that Washington may have been informed and have given a green light.

In Doha, the Qatari government reacted with fury, calling the attack reckless and cowardly, and a blatant violation of all international laws and norms. Similar statements of outrage came from across the Arab world.

The strike came just two days after the Trump administration announced its latest, somewhat sketchy proposals to end the war in Gaza.

It’s likely the Hamas leaders were meeting precisely to discuss them. With reports still coming in from the scene, it’s not known how many of them, if any, are still alive.

Azadeh Moshiri
Reporting from Doha

As news of the explosions began circulating, residents were stunned.

One man told us multiple friends began ringing him to tell him there were "blasts" in the capital. He said he couldn't believe something like this would happen in Doha.

Israel has insisted measures were taken in order to mitigate harm to civilians. The area it struck is a central, residential neighbourhood.

For the second time this year, Qatar has seen fallout from the conflict in the Middle East result in a strike on its own soil.

In June, Iran launched missiles at a US air base near the capital, days after a US attack inside Iran.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemns "this flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar".

Speaking at a news briefing just moments ago, he says he had just learned of the strike on Qatar, which he describes as "a country that has been playing a very positive role to achieve a ceasefire and release of all hostages".

"All parties must work to achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it," the UN chief says.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

A White House official has confirmed to the BBC that the Trump administration was "notified" about the Israeli strike on Doha before it took place.

The attack by Israel on Qatar, a major non-Nato ally for the US, immediately raised questions about the level of US awareness and involvement, particularly given the approximately 10,000 US military personnel that are stationed in the country.

We are likely to hear more from the White House's perspective at 18:00 BST when Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt briefs reporters.

President Trump's first on-camera appearance today is scheduled for 21:30 BST when he signs a health-related proclamation from the Oval Office.

That event is open to today's White House press pool, meaning that reporters will be able to ask him question on a wide variety of issues, including the Israeli operation.

Video shows damaged building after Israel targets Hamas leaders in Qatarpublished at 15:53 British Summer Time

15:53 BST

Image source, X

By Thomas Copeland and Benedict Garman

BBC Verify has geolocated the site of an explosion in the Qatari capital Doha after an Israeli strike targeting the senior leadership of Hamas.

Using satellite imagery and Google Street View pictures we have verified footage showing smoke rising from a heavily damaged section of a complex next to Woqod petrol station on Wadi Rawdan Street, close to the West Bay Lagoon district north of central Doha.

Not the first Gulf assassination Israel has carried outpublished at 15:51 British Summer Time

15:51 BST

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

There is a precedent to this latest Israeli strike, albeit a much more discreet and smaller scale one.

In 2010, undercover agents from Israel’s overseas spy agency Mossad carried out an assassination in the UAE of a senior Hamas official.

Disguised as tennis players, the Mossad operatives entered a Dubai hotel - photographs of them riding up in the lift were later published - and killed Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, a founding member of Hamas’s Izzadeen Al-Qassam Brigades.

Before that, there was also a bungled Mossad assassination of another Hamas leader, Khaled Al-Meshal, in Jordan in 1997, carried out in retaliation for Hamas’s suicide bombings, Israel said.

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Israel's security agency Shin Bet says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at the department's headquarters when the Hamas delegation was struck in Doha, Qatar.

The attack against "the top leadership" of Hamas was coordinated between the agency and Israel's military, a spokesperson for Shin Bet says.

Defence Minister Israel Katz, the security agency's deputy chief and the head of military intelligence were also present at the headquarters, they add.

Image source, Shin Bet Media

In the last few moments, Qatar's interior ministry has confirmed that the explosions heard in Doha were targeting "one of the residential headquarters of Hamas".

The ministry adds that the situation is now safe with specialised teams carrying out the necessary tasks.

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has thanked Benjamin Netanyahu and fellow cabinet ministers for the decision to launch the strike against Hamas negotiators in Qatar.

He also extends thanks to the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli security agency Shin Bet for actioning it.

Ben-Gvir says the move is another "historic decision in a series of important and historic decisions" the Israeli government has made.

Image source, Reuters

As we mentioned a short time ago, a Hamas official has told the BBC that the strikes targeted the Hamas negotiating team in Qatar.

Qatar is acting as a mediator between Israel and Hamas and has hosted negotiations between them since October 2023.

On Sunday, Hamas said it welcomed "some ideas" from the US about how to reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement that it received through mediators. It said it was in discussion about how to turn them "into a comprehensive agreement that meets the needs of our people".

Yesterday, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar indicated that his country is in agreement with the US proposal for ending the war, while US President Donald Trump gave Hamas what he called a "last warning" to agree a deal.

At the weekend, Hamas said it was ready to immediately negotiate the release of all those who were taken hostage during the group's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 in exchange for "a clear declaration to end the war, a full withdrawal from Gaza, and the formation of a committee of Palestinian independents to manage Gaza".

Israel's strike sets a worrying precedent for future peace talkspublished at 15:20 British Summer Time

15:20 BST

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

This attack by Israel against the Hamas leadership in Qatar is exactly what many feared would eventually happen, given the determination by some in the Israeli government to continue a campaign of "score settling" for the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led raid into Israel.

Seen through that prism, this Israeli strike is the latest blow by Israel against its enemies, whether they be in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen and now Qatar.

It also sets a worrying precedent for future peace talks and negotiations.

Several questions now need answers. What did the US know about this attack in advance?

If it did know it was coming then, given this was an attack on sovereign Qatari territory, how will this affect the massive US airbase in Qatar at Al-Udeid? How will it affect US relations with all its Gulf Arab allies?

If Qatar, which hosted the US-Taliban peace talks prior to 2021, is not a safe place, then where is?

We can now bring you new pictures showing damage caused to a building following the strikes in Doha.

It is not yet clear whether this is the building that had been the target.

Image source, Reuters

The office for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says "today's action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation".

"Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility," it says in a statement.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says today's strike on Doha shows that "terrorists do not and will not have immunity" anywhere in the world.

He calls the strike the "right decision" and says it had "perfect execution" by the Israeli military and counterintelligence services.