Israel, Gaza & Hamas: 1(Updated) Israeli strike targets Hamas leaders in Qatar as they weigh Gaza ceasefire proposal; 2)Palestinian gunmen open fire at Jerusalem bus stop, killing 6, Israeli officials say

1) (Updated) Israeli strike targets Hamas leaders in Qatar as they weigh Gaza ceasefire proposal

Source The Associated Press

By Josef Federman And Jon Gambrell, September 9, 2025

Israeli strike targets Hamas leaders in US-allied Qatar as they weigh Gaza ceasefire proposal

Israel struck the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Qatar on Tuesday as the group’s top figures gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The strike on the territory of a U.S. ally marked a stunning escalation and risked upending talks aimed at winding down the war and freeing hostages.

The attack angered Qatar, an energy-rich Gulf nation hosting thousands of American troops that has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas throughout the 23-month-old war and even before. It condemned what it referred to as a “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms” as smoke rose over its capital, Doha.

The United States said Israel alerted it before the strike. But American officials sought to distance the U.S. from the attack. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff passed along a warning to the Qataris.

She said President Donald Trump believes the Israeli strike was an “unfortunate incident” that didn’t advance peace in the region. She said Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “made his thoughts and concerns very clear.”

Hamas said in a statement its top leaders survived the strike but that five lower-level members were killed, including the son of Khalil al-Hayya — Hamas’ leader for Gaza and its top negotiator — and the head of al-Hayya’s office. Hamas, which has sometimes only confirmed the assassination of its leaders months later, offered no immediate proof that al-Hayya and other senior figures had survived.

A member of Qatar’s Internal Security Force was also killed and others were wounded, Qatar’s Interior Ministry said.

Hamas has survived numerous assassinations of top leaders and still shows cohesion in Gaza, despite having suffered major blows in Israel’s campaign, triggered by the militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The strike threatens to derail long-stalled ceasefire talks as more uncertain, as Israel gears up for a major offensive aimed at taking over Gaza City. That escalation has been met with heavy international condemnation and opposition within Israel from those who fear it will doom the remaining hostages.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack, saying “all parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it.”

Israel had long threatened Hamas in Qatar

Surveillance footage aired by Al Jazeera showed the strike happened in Doha’s Diplomatic Quarter at a series of buildings that housed Hamas’ political wing. An Egyptian official said the strike came when a meeting by Hamas officials over the talks had been scheduled for the site. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to reporters.

Israel has long threatened to strike Hamas leaders wherever they are. While it has often welcomed Qatar’s role as a mediator, alongside Egypt, it has also accused the Gulf nation of not putting enough pressure on the group.

In contrast to previous Israeli operations against senior militants abroad, Netanyahu was quick to publicly claim the strike, saying: “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it and Israel takes full responsibility.”

He said the decision was taken Monday after a shooting attack in Jerusalem that killed six people and an attack on Israeli forces in Gaza that killed four soldiers.

Israel alerted the U.S. ahead of time, according to an Israeli official, a White House official and another person familiar with the matter. The White House official would not say if Washington provided Israel with approval for carrying out the strike. Another U.S. official said the American military did not participate.

All four officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The Israeli military said it used “precise munitions and additional intelligence” in the strike, without elaborating. It was not immediately clear how it carried out the attack.

Hamas said the attack showed that Netanyahu and his government “do not want to reach any agreement and are deliberately seeking to thwart all opportunities and thwart international efforts.” It said it also held the United States responsible for the strike.

Qatar condemned what it referred to as a “cowardly Israeli attack” on Hamas’ political headquarters in Doha. Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari called it a “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms” and said Qatar “will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior.”

Egypt, another key mediator with Hamas, condemned the attack, saying it targeted Palestinian leaders who had met “to discuss ways to reach a ceasefire agreement.” It said the strike was a “direct assault” on Qatar’s sovereignty.

The main group representing families of the hostages expressed “deep concern and great fear” after the strike. “The prospect of their return now faces greater uncertainty than ever, with one thing absolutely certain — their time is running out,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

The U.S. embassy in Qatar briefly instituted a shelter-in-place order for its staff, but later lifted that.

Ceasefire negotiations in doubt

Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was giving his “last warning” to Hamas regarding a possible ceasefire, as the U.S. advanced a new proposal that Arab officials said included the immediate release of all the hostages.

A senior Hamas official called it a “humiliating surrender document,” but the militant group said it would discuss the proposal and respond within days.

The proposal, presented by Witkoff, calls for a negotiated end of the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza once the hostages are released and a ceasefire is established. That’s according to Egyptian and Hamas officials familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door discussions.

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 48 hostages, around 20 of whom are believed to be alive, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying the war will continue until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed, with Israel maintaining open-ended security control over Gaza.

Mediators had previously focused on brokering a temporary ceasefire and the release of some hostages, with the two sides then holding talks on a more permanent truce. Witkoff walked away from those talks in July, after which Hamas accepted a proposal that mediators said was almost identical to an earlier one that Israel had approved.

International outrage

The war in Gaza has already left Israel increasingly isolated internationally, with even many of its Western allies calling for it to end the war and do more to address the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine.

Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ foreign minister, expressed “full solidarity with our dear Qatar” shortly after the attack.

The United Arab Emirates recently warned Israel that any move to annex the occupied West Bank would threaten the Abraham Accords, a landmark agreement brokered by Trump during his first term in which the two nations normalized relations.

Trump hopes to expand those accords to include regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia, but those prospects have dimmed as the war has ground on.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman described the strike as a “criminal act and a flagrant violation of international law” in a phone call with Qatar’s ruler.

Federman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo, and Aamer Madhani, Darlene Superville and Konstantin Toropin in Washington, contributed.

2)Palestinian gunmen open fire at Jerusalem bus stop, killing 6, Israeli officials say

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Melanie Lidman And Julia Frankel, September 8, 2025

Palestinian attackers opened fire on people at a bus stop at during the morning rush hour in Jerusalem on Monday, killing six people and wounding another 12, according to Israeli officials.

An Israeli soldier and civilians who were at the scene shot and killed the two attackers, said police, who later arrested a third person in connection with the shooting. Footage of the attack showed dozens of people fleeing from the bus stop at a busy intersection. The windshield of a bus was riddled with bullet holes and belongings were scattered across the street.

The war in Gaza has sparked a surge of violence in both the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Israel. Palestinian militants have attacked and killed Israelis in Israel and the West Bank, while there has also been a rise in settler violence against Palestinians. Monday’s shooting — at a major intersection, with a road leading to Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem — was the deadliest in Israel since October 2024.

Paramedics who responded to the chaotic scene said broken glass covered the area, and people wounded lay unconscious on the road and a sidewalk near the bus stop. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar identified the attackers as Palestinian.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the scene some two hours after the shooting. Netanyahu was supposed to be in court on Monday for his ongoing corruption trial, which was delayed due to the attack. He warned that Israel is “fighting a war on multiple fronts,” including Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel.

Netanyahu praised the soldier who fired on the gunmen who was from a newly-formed unit for ultra-Orthodox soldiers.

Hundreds of security forces arrived at the scene to search for additional attackers or explosives that could have been planted around the area. On Monday afternoon, police said they arrested a resident of east Jerusalem who was connected to the attack.

The Israeli military said it is encircling Palestinian villages on the outskirts of the nearby West Bank city of Ramallah as it steps up defense in response.

Hamas hailed the attack without claiming responsibility, calling it a “natural response to the occupation’s crimes against our people.”

In October 2024, two Palestinians from the West Bank opened fire inside a light rail train in Tel Aviv, killing seven people and leaving many others wounded. Hamas’ military wing claimed responsibility for that attack, the deadliest in Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023, raid that started the war in Gaza.

Data from the U.N.’s humanitarian office says at least 49 Israelis, including some soldiers and police, were killed by Palestinians in Israel or the West Bank between the start of the war and July 2025.

During the same period, Israeli forces and civilians killed at least 968 Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank, according to the data. The Israeli military has said many were militants, though the dead have also included stone throwers and uninvolved civilians. ___

Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.