A funeral was held Thursday afternoon in Doha, the Qatari capital, for six people killed in an Israeli strike during Operation Fire Summit, which targeted a meeting of senior Hamas officials. Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended the funeral prayer at a mosque where six coffins were displayed.
Videos from the ceremony showed no senior Hamas leaders or figures linked to the group, though the strike killed the son of Hamas leader in Gaza Khalil al-Hayya, his chief of staff and one of his bodyguards.
The funeral in Qatar
(Video: Reuters)
Later in the day, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, who is not part of the group’s top leadership, released a recorded statement. He repeated claims that the Israeli strike failed but gave no details about the officials’ fate. Barhoum said Hamas leaders had been discussing a U.S. proposal for the release of all hostages and a cease-fire at the time of the attack. He added that al-Hayya’s wife was injured in the strike, which he said targeted al-Hayya’s home in Doha, along with the wife and children of his slain son.
“This is a direct attack on the entire negotiation track and on Qatar’s and Egypt’s mediation roles,” Barhoum said. “It is clear evidence that Netanyahu and his group oppose any agreement and bear full responsibility for the failure of previous efforts.”
A live broadcast by Al Jazeera showed six coffins, five draped in Palestinian flags and one in a Qatari flag. The latter belonged to a Qatari security officer killed in the strike. Hamas acknowledged five members were killed but did not name any senior figures. Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Wednesday that Qatari officers were also seriously wounded in the attack.
Forty-eight hours after the strike, the fate of Hamas officials reportedly present at the Doha meeting remained unclear. Hamas has claimed they survived, while in Israel pessimism has grown over the operation’s success. No photos or videos have surfaced to confirm the officials are alive. Asked about al-Hayya’s condition Wednesday, Qatar’s prime minister said only that “there is no official statement yet.”
Hamas sources told the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that the leaders targeted in the strike did not attend Thursday’s funeral. Instead, Hamas representatives Izzat al-Rishq and Osama Hamdan, who are not part of the top leadership, took part in the ceremony.
Qatari officials also rejected a report by the U.S. news site Axios claiming Doha was reconsidering its security cooperation. “That is not true,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said. “Security and defense cooperation with the United States is stronger than ever and continues to grow.”
In an interview with CNN, Qatar’s prime minister said backing from President Donald Trump was “a powerful message expressing his commitment to Qatar.” He added, “Now we must see what actions will follow.”
“We need to decide how to respond,” the prime minister said. “There will be a Qatari response and a regional response. The regional response is now being discussed with all partners. We are working on an Arab summit to be held in Doha.” Qatar announced Thursday that the summit will take place Sunday and Monday.