Israel utilized a novel and audacious strategy in the strike on Hamas's senior leadership in Doha, Qatar, this week, according to a report Friday by The Wall Street Journal.
The operation involved launching ballistic missiles into space from jet fighters operating over the Red Sea, the report said.
Multiple senior US officials with direct knowledge of the operation told WSJ that the IDF carried out the long-range strike using eight F-15 jets and four F-35 jets, which launched the missiles from approximately 1,500 kilometers away from the Qatari capital. This unique method allowed Israel to execute the attack before the United States could raise objections to the offensive.
A senior US defense official, quoted in the report, confirmed the strategic timing of the notification, stating, "Notice was given so close to actual launching of missiles that there was no way to reverse or halt the order."
While Israel did inform the US military of the plan, the WSJ noted that precise information about the target was not initially disclosed. However, the American military's space-based sensors detected the heat signatures of the launched ballistic missiles and tracked their trajectory, confirming that their intended destination was indeed Doha.
The Hamas terrorist organization claimed on Friday evening that Khalil al-Hayya, one of its leaders who was targeted in Israel’s strike in Qatar earlier this week, was not eliminated in the strike.
A statement from the terrorist organization, quoted by Channel 13 News, said that al-Hayya "carried out the funeral prayer for his martyred son who was killed in the strike and for those killed in the assassination attempt, under special security arrangements."
Hamas did not release any photos or other documentation to substantiate the claim.
On Thursday, Hamas published photos from the funeral in Doha for those eliminated in Israel's strike. The images showed senior organization officials Osama Hamdan and Izzat al-Rishq, but al-Hayya was nowhere to be seen.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani sharply condemned what he termed the “treacherous Israeli attack” on the Qatari capital. He declared that Qatar “reserves the right” to respond to Israel, warning, “We will not be lenient on our sovereignty and will deal firmly with any security breach.”
On Wednesday, while criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the strike and stating that Qatar is now “reassessing everything” regarding its role in future talks, Al Thani said Qatar would not be deterred from its mediation efforts.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)