Who is Khalil al-Hayya, A Key Figure Targeted in Israel's Attack on Qatar?

September 10, 2025 | 03:29 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israel has launched a strike on Hamas officials meeting in Qatar’s capital, Doha, in what the military described as a “precise” attack, Al Jazeera reported. The attack initially targeted senior Hamas leaders, including Khalil Al-Hayya, in Qatar who occurred to hold ceasefire negotiations, ABC added. 

According to a BBC report, Hamas said its negotiating team met to discuss the latest US proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip at a residential compound in Doha. The compound was severely damaged by a series of explosions. 

Here’s everything we know about the victims of Hamas members during the attack and which leaders remain on the board of the Palestinian armed forces now. 

Who is Khalil Al-Hayya?

An official statement from Hamas said its senior leader, Khalil Al-Hayya survived an Israeli attack in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, September 9, 2025. The mediator has been part of the Palestinian armed forces since it was set up in 1987 as one of the diplomatic frontliners. 

Throughout his run as senior leader, Khalil Al-Hayya mostly reside in Qatar, also known as the main hub for international mediation with countries like Israel, the United States, and Egypt. 

Citing Al Jazeera, Khalil Al-Hayya remains one of five leaders helming Hamas’s leadership council after the killings of Ismal Haniyeh in Tehran, Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, and Mohammed Deif in 2024. 

Khalil Al-Hayya’s Son Fell Victim to Israel’s Attack 

The Israel military has admitted that the attack in Doha, the capital of Qatar, was a deliberate attempt to assassinate a senior Hamas leader and other high-ranking officials of the Palestinian group. 

Though Hamas said its leader was unharmed, five members of the Palestinian armed forces and a member of Qatar’s Internal Security Forces were killed. Among the Hamas members killed was the son of Khalil Al-Hayya, Humam Al-Hayya. The other fatality was an aide to the leader.

According to witnesses in Doha, there were as many as eight separate explosions on Tuesday afternoon, with plumes of smoke covering the Katara district in the north of the city. The attack hit a residential building housing several members of Hamas’ Political Bureau, Qatari authorities said. 

The victims killed in the Israel’s attack in Qatar include: 

• Jihad Labad – director of al-Hayya’s office

• Humam al-Hayya – al-Hayya’s son

• Abdullah Abdul Wahid – bodyguard

• Moamen Hassouna – bodyguard

• Ahmed al-Mamluk – bodyguard

• Bader Saad Mohammed al-Humaidi al-Dosari –  a member of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya)

Current Leaders on Board of the Hamas Armed Forces 

The Palestinian armed group formed a five-man leadership council in an effort to call ceasefire on Gaza that include: 

Khalil Al-Hayya 

As a senior leader of Hamas, Khalil Al-Hayya has been at the forefront of the group’s substantial political work. In 2022, Al-Hayya is believed to lead a Hamas delegation to negotiate with former Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus. 

Khaled Meshaal

Since the 1990s, Khaled Meshaal has been actively involved in the Palestinian resistance movement. He is also widely known to be the leader who was injected with a slow-acting lethal chemical in the ear by Israeli agents. 

Mohammad Darwish 

The nominal head of Hamas’s leadership council, Mohammad Darwish,once met Turkiye’s President Erdogan in early 2025 to endorse a national unity government for post-war Gaza. 

Nizar Awadallah 

As a long-time Hamas leader, Nizar Awadallah has held multiple important positions. However, he hasn’t made any public appearance in the media since the October 7 attacks. 

Zaher Jabarin 

Zaher Jabarin is the Palestinian armed forces’s chief financial administrator who was arrested by Israel in early 1993. He was part of a prisoner exchange in 2011 after spending almost two decades behind the bars. 

US Responds on the Israel’s Attacks in Qatar 

Despite being informed in advance of the attack, President Trump wished to be steered away from the offense. As reported by The Guardian, Trump wrote in a social media post on his Truth Social network, “This was a decision made by the prime minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me.”

Editor’s Choice: Israel Attacks Doha; Hamas Says Its Leader is Unharmed

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News

Qatar Airways Confirms Operations Unaffected by Doha Blasts

3 jam lalu

Israel Attacks Doha; Hamas Says Its Leader is Unharmed

9 jam lalu

Israel Admits to Targeted Strike on Hamas Leaders in Doha, Qatar

18 jam lalu

Gaza-Bound Flotillas: All You Need to Know

23 jam lalu

Actors, Filmmakers Worldwide Join Boycott of Israeli Film Groups Linked to Genocide

1 hari lalu

Israeli Drones Attack Sumud Global Flotilla Main Ship; Activists Survived

1 hari lalu

Israel Labels Spain 'Antisemitic' and Bars 2 Ministers from Entering

1 hari lalu

Spanish PM Announces Measures to Stop Israel's Genocide in Gaza

1 hari lalu

Famine-Linked Death Toll in Gaza Climbs to 387 as Israel Continues Blockade

1 hari lalu

Yemen's Houthi Launches Eight Drone Strikes on Israel, Including on Ramon Airport

2 hari lalu