DOHA, Sept 11 — Qatar said it would hold funerals today in the capital for those killed in an Israeli strike that targeted Hamas figures in the Gulf country earlier this week.
“The Ministry of Interior announces that the funeral prayer for the martyrs of the Israeli targeting… will be held on the afternoon of Thursday, September 11, 2025, at Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque, and they will be buried in the Mesaimeer Cemetery,” it said in a statement on X.
On Tuesday, Israel struck Doha targeting Hamas leaders, but the group said its top officials survived, while five of its members were left dead and a Qatari security force member was also killed.
Hamas said its slain members were top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya’s son Humam, his office director Jihad Labad and bodyguards Ahmad Mamlouk, Abdallah Abdelwahd and Mumen Hassoun.
Qatari Lance Corporal Badr Saad Mohammed al-Humaidi al-Dosari was also killed, with Doha also confirming the deaths of three of the Hamas members.
In an interview with CNN yesterday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he could not confirm Hayya’s fate.
He warned the attack killed any hope for Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip and said Qatar was reevaluating “everything” surrounding its role as a key mediator in the talks.
Doha has been a venue for several rounds of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel.
The country has hosted Hamas’s political bureau since 2012 with the blessing of the US, which has sought to maintain a communication channel with the group.
Sheikh Mohammed said he hoped for a collective regional response to the attack and that an Arab-Islamic summit would be held in Doha to decide on a course of action.
The first Israeli strikes in the Gulf sent shockwaves in a region long shielded from conflicts in the Middle East and drew international condemnation.
Former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was buried in the Gulf state after his assassination in Tehran in July 2024 in an attack attributed to Israel. — AFP
Funeral tomorrow in Doha for Hamas officials, Qatari officer killed in Israeli strike
