ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Updated:

Israeli forces targeted Doha-based Hamas officials using fighter jets they had sent to the Red Sea, according to a Friday report from The Wall Street Journal, citing several US officials.

The fighter jets used by the IAF above Red Sea waters included eight F-15s and four F-35s, according to the report, noting that no Israeli aircraft entered the airspace of surrounding Arab countries.

A reporter sent by the Journal to the Doha building that was hit saw that the middle floor and the ground floor's right side were largely destroyed.

Missile firing into space?

Israel hit Doha with long-range ballistic missiles, as Qatar is on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula from where the Red Sea is located, with the US officials telling the Journal that Israeli planes launched these missiles into space over Saudi Arabia at the Qatari capital. The report then said, citing the officials, that "space-based US sensors that detect infrared heat signatures picked up the launch and the trajectory of the missiles, confirming Doha as the destination." The missile firing into space was for Israel to avoid accusations by the Saudis that their airspace was violated, the report added.

Riyadh condemned the Qatar strike but made no mention of Israel firing missiles over their territory, with their foreign ministry saying that "Israel's persistence in its criminal transgressions and its blatant violation of the principles of international law and all international norms."

Ships are docked at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen, July 31, 2024.
Ships are docked at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen, July 31, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)

The US officials in the Journal report said that the Trump administration was mostly kept in the dark about the planned strikes in Qatar until minutes before, when the US military was informed by Israel about the operation. One American defense official said that there was "no way to reverse or halt the order," according to the report.

The Hamas terrorist organization said on Friday that its acting leader, Khalil al-Hayya, survived the strike, and an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post the day before that concerns had been growing that no senior Hamas officials were killed.