https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-ea...ttle-time-to-object-c2369608?mod=hp_lead_pos6
By
Shelby Holliday,
Michael R. Gordon,
Lara Seligma,
Summer Said Sept. 12, 2025 2:40
Israel carried out a missile strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar, using long-range missiles launched from warplanes in the Red Sea.
As Israeli war planners plotted a secret strike on Hamas political leaders in Qatar, they chose a plan that enabled them to attack quickly and limited the opportunity for the U.S. to object.
The operation, which was carried out Tuesday, relied on warplanes that fired long range missiles, avoided the airspace of Arab countries and left the Trump administration in the dark until the last moments.
Israeli jet fighters, eight F-15s and four F-35s, flew to the Red Sea, on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from Qatar. From there, some of the planes fired the air-launched ballistic missiles into space over Saudi Arabia at Doha, several U.S. officials said.
This account of the attack is based on interviews with multiple senior U.S. officials briefed on the operation.
It wasn’t until minutes before the strike that Israel notified the U.S. military it was carrying out an attack against Hamas, several officials said. The Israelis didn’t initially provide precise information on the target, they added. But space-based U.S. sensors that detect infrared heat signatures picked up the launch and the trajectory of the missiles, confirming Doha as the destination.
None of the information came in time to enable the Trump administration to head off the attack.
“Notice was given so close to actual launching of missiles that there was no way to reverse or halt the order,” said a senior U.S. defense official, who called the operation “absolutely unimaginable.”
The U.S. Central Command alerted Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who in turn informed the White House, U.S. officials said.
President Trump directed special envoy Steve Witkoff to notify the Qataris, according to the White House. But it was too late. Qatar said the warning arrived around 10 minutes after the missiles landed.
A White House spokeswoman referred to a post by Trump on Truth Social after the attack.
“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, doesn’t advance Israel or America’s goals,” Trump wrote
.
Note: Route is approximate and schematic for illustrative purposes
Sources: staff reports; American Security Project (U.S. facilities)
Daniel Kiss/WSJ
The details illustrate how Israel was able to pull off a long-range attack on the soil of an important American partner. It also highlighted the extent of Israel’s military superiority over the rest of the region and its ability to deploy it at vast distances with high accuracy.
By positioning its jet fighters in the Red Sea and firing missiles that went into space, Israel sought to avoid accusations that it had violated Saudi Arabia’s airspace in conducting the attack. Saudi officials have condemned the attack but haven’t referred publicly to Israel’s firing of missiles over their territory.
Yet Israel failed to kill Hamas’s top political leaders including Khalil Al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin as they gathered to discuss the latest U.S. proposal for ending the war in Gaza. Those leaders steer the group’s international relations and help raise funds but don’t join in fighting like the military wing in Gaza.
Arab officials familiar with the incident said the Hamas political leaders weren’t in the room that was hit but were nearby. Some of them were seriously injured and rushed to the hospital, several officials said.
Instead, the Israeli strike killed an array of lower-ranking Hamas officials and a member of Qatar’s internal security force. Israeli officials acknowledged privately that the attack probably didn’t kill all its targets but said they were still assessing the results.
A visit to the building by a Wall Street Journal reporter shows that the middle floor was largely destroyed by the missiles, along with the right side of the ground floor. But the structure was still standing, and the rest of it suffered little damage, suggesting a highly precise strike with small warheads.
The surrounding streets were blocked by military and security forces. “You can’t go here,” a man in a blue military beret said, waving away a visitor.
“Israel, led by blusterous extremists, has gone beyond any borders, any limitations when it comes to behavior,” Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York.
“How can we host Israeli representatives when they have committed this attack?” he said, referring to Qatar’s role as mediator in peace talks between Hamas and Israel.
The Security Council on Thursday condemned the strike, but didn’t mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including the U.S.
Israel’s arsenal of air-launched ballistic missiles was disclosed in
U.S. intelligence documents leaked in 2024. The reports referred to two different missiles—the “Golden Horizon” and the ISO2, or Rocks, system—that the intelligence documents said had been observed at Israel’s Hatzerim air base in the Negev Desert, along with F-15s.
Trump held a
heated call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, conveying deep frustration at being blindsided, the Journal has reported. Trump argued the attack was unwise and was angry that he learned about it from the U.S. military, rather than from Israel, the officials said.
Netanyahu told Trump that he had a brief window to launch the strikes and took the shot. In a more cordial follow-up call, Trump asked if the attack was successful, and Netanyahu said he didn’t know. Qatar hosts thousands of American troops, many serving at Al Udeid air base outside Doha.
The strike, following Israel’s surprise attack on Iran in June, has set back years of effort to build diplomatic relations
between Israel and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. None of the Arab states who have established relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords have suspended ties since the Qatar operation.
“I think this attack is another landmark in portraying Israel as a rogue state not taking into account international laws and norms,” said Ofer Guterman, a senior researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies. “It hurts Israel’s reputation globally, and in the region it amplifies the fear we see among Arab states that Israel is now a loose cannon with hegemonic aspirations.”
Arab leaders were enraged and plan to meet soon in Doha to craft a response. Israeli officials say they are still open to talks with Hamas on ending the Gaza war and that Hamas has been the main obstacle, but Arab officials say the operation has hurt Israel’s standing.
The attack may hinder U.S. efforts to
build a regional air defense system involving Israel and Arab states, aimed at Iran, some Middle East officials say. At the time of the attack, U.S. troops were conducting exercises in Egypt with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other regional partners.
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