FDD SITREP | IDF Strikes Senior Hamas Leadership in Doha

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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a targeted strike against senior Hamas operatives based in Doha, Qatar. Reported targets include longtime leaders Khaled Mashal, Muhammad Ismail Darwish, Khalil al-Hayya, Mousa Abu Marzook, and Zaher Jabarin. These men are directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Israelis and Americans and have overseen Hamas’s global operations for decades, including serving as key architects of the October 7 massacre.

The strike highlights Hamas’s dependence on external safe havens — and the challenge Israel faces in confronting a terrorist organization whose leaders operate from luxury in Muslim Brotherhood-sponsoring states like Qatar while directing violence against civilians. Key questions remain: How effective was the strike? How might this bold action shape Israel’s security and war strategy? And what are the implications for U.S.-Israel relations, given Qatar’s status as a Major Non-NATO Ally and host of the largest American military base in the region?

FDD Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer, Senior Advisor Richard Goldberg, and Senior Fellow Jonathan Conricus will assess the implications for Israel’s counterterrorism campaign, regional security, and U.S. policy.

Jonathan Schanzer

Jonathan Schanzer is the executive director at FDD, where he oversees the work of the organization’s experts and scholars. Jonathan previously worked as a terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he played an integral role in the designation of numerous terrorist financiers. He has held previous think tank research positions at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Middle East Forum. Jonathan’s latest book, Gaza Conflict 2021: Hamas, Israel and Eleven Days of War (FDD Press, 2021), challenges and corrects some of the wildly inaccurate news reported during the conflict.

Richard Goldberg

Richard Goldberg is a senior advisor at FDD, directs FDD’s International Organizations program, and contributes to FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power. He previously served on the White House National Security Council, as deputy chief of staff to former U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, and as chief of staff to former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Jonathan Conricus

Jonathan Conricus is a senior fellow at FDD focused on the Middle East. served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for 24 years as a combat commander in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, a military diplomat, foreign relations expert. He most recently served as international spokesperson for the IDF in the wake of the Hamas October 7 attacks. From various vantage points along and beyond Israel’s borders, Jonathan has delivered hundreds of security and strategic briefings to foreign groups and dignitaries, including heads of state, military professionals, senior government officials, students, and civil society. Jonathan is a member of the Israel Defense and Security Forum and a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.