Targeted Hamas senior official appears in first interview since Doha attack

The IDF targeted a group of senior Hamas officials in Doha, Qatar last Tuesday.

Hamas political bureau member Ghazi Hamad, who was targeted in Israel's attack on Doha, Qatar, last Tuesday, appeared in an interview for the first time since the attack on Al Jazeera.

“We are not the only target; the entire nation is,” Hamed said. “Israel has no red lines.Netanyahu talks about changing the face of the Middle East, and that requires an Arab response.”

Hamed described the events surrounding the reported assassination attempt, which he said took place shortly after a meeting to discuss a US proposal aimed at ending the war.

“We were sitting to discuss the American proposal to end the war,” he said. “Less than an hour later, we heard explosions and immediately understood it was an assassination attempt. As residents of Gaza, we recognize those sounds. We tried to flee as quickly as possible, and we succeeded.”

He criticized the role of American mediators during recent negotiations.

“Our experience with the American mediator was bitter, and there was no credibility on the American side because they withdrew from their proposals,” he said.

On the issue of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, Hamed emphasized that Hamas's actions were guided by internal values.

“We treat the prisoners according to our values despite the massacres against our people,” he said. “Those putting them at risk are the occupiers themselves.”

Hamas brought Palestinian statehood back to the world agenda with Oct. 7

Hamad boasted of the role that the terror group’s October 7 massacre played in bringing the issue of Palestinian statehood back to the international agenda, in another Al Jazeera interview at the beginning of August.

He also criticized the Palestinian Authority and the international community, claiming that interest in Palestinian statehood and the “fate of Palestinians” was only achieved through the terror group’s “resistance and the blow we dealt to Israel.”

“Without our weapons, no one would be looking in our direction,” Hamad said during that interview.

The IDF and the Shin Bet attempted to assassinate Hamas’s leadership in Doha, Qatar, on September 9th.

Key targets in the strike were Khalil al-Hayya, Khaled Mashaal, and Zaher Jabarin.