Israel used air-launched ballistic missiles to avoid Saudi airspace in unprecedented strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar

Four days after Israel’s shocking strike targeting a group of senior Hamas leaders in Qatar, it is still not clear whether the strike killed or wounded the intended targets.

However, several new reports shed light on the ingenious way the Israeli Air Force (IAF) managed to pull off the strike on a target some 1,800 km (1,120 miles) from the Israeli border and precisely hit part of a building in the crowded capital of a U.S. ally – and without violating the airspace of Saudi Arabia.

“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don't care about the people in Gaza. They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on 𝕏 on Saturday evening, after the conclusion of the Jewish Sabbath.

La frappe israélienne -raté- contre les responsables du Hamas au Qatar menée depuis la mer rouge. Les Patriot saoudiens et Qataris n'ont rien vu passer...

How Israel Used Ballistic Missiles From the Red Sea to Carry Out Its Audacious Qatar Attackhttps://t.co/kmPNEChhBW pic.twitter.com/85YvUWsgcW

— Harry Boone (@Harry_Boone) September 13, 2025

“Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war,” he added. Several commentators in Israel interpreted Netanyahu’s statement as a sign that the strike had failed to kill the Hamas leaders.

Hamas, for its part, officially stated on Saturday that Khalil al-Hayya, who led the negotiation team and had once served as deputy for the late Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, had survived.

However, a Palestinian source close to Hamas told Kan News that Hayya was injured in the Israeli strike, alongside at least two other senior Hamas officials, explaining why none of them have appeared in public despite surviving the attack.

The source emphasized that none of the leadership members were directly killed in the strike. According to Hamas, Hayya’s son, chief of staff, and several other functionaries were killed.

Israeli officials told several news outlets that despite pessimism regarding the operation’s success, assessments were still underway and the outcome remained uncertain.

Ove the weekend, Arab officials told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that the Hamas officials weren’t in the room that was hit but were nearby, adding that some were seriously injured and taken to the hospital.

A WSJ reporter who visited the building since the strike, wrote 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 same report revealed new details about the military operation, explaining how Israel was able to launch ballistic missiles into space to avoid entering Saudi Arabian airspace during the attack.

Eight F-15s and four F-35s flew over the Red Sea opposite Qatar, on the far side of the Arabian Peninsula, to carry out the strike, “multiple senior U.S. officials briefed on the operation” told the WSJ.

From that position, they fired Israel’s top-secret air-launched ballistic missiles, which passed through space over Saudi Arabia before striking the section of a building in Doha where Israeli intelligence believed Hamas leaders were meeting.

Just minutes before, Israel had notified the U.S. military of the strike, without providing precise information on the target. The U.S. only identified the target after space-based U.S. sensors that detect infrared heat signatures from the launch and analyzed the missile trajectory.

“Notice was given so close to actual launching of missiles that there was no way to reverse or halt the order,” a senior U.S. defense official said, calling the operation “absolutely unimaginable.”

By the time the warning was transmitted to Qatar, the missiles had already hit.