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'We can get them in…': Why Mossad declined a ground hit on Hamas leaders in Qatar
Mossad's reservations to carry out a ground operation ultimately influenced Israel's decision to carry out an airstrike, the Washington Post has reported.
Israel's intelligence agency Mossad declined to assassinate Hamas leadership in Qatar by ground agents, The Washington Post has reported, citing two Israeli officials.
According to the officials familiar with the matter, Mossad director, David Barnea, opposed killing the Hamas officials in Qatar as he believed that such an action could rupture the relationship he and his agency had cultivated with the Qataris, who had been hosting Hamas and mediating ceasefire talks.
The Hamas’ leadership has long been exiled in Qatar, which has served as a mediator in talks between Hamas and Israel for several years, even before the October 7 attacks in 2023.
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“This time, Mossad was unwilling to do it on the ground,” one of the Israelis familiar with the matter told The Washington Post. The official added that the agency viewed Qatar as an important intermediary in talks with Hamas.
The reservations by Mossad to carry out a ground operation ultimately influenced Israel's government decision to carry out an airstrike, the newspaper reported.
Israel targeted Hamas leaders Tuesday in strikes on the Qatari capital, killing five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer. The attack drew widespread international condemnation, including from Gulf monarchies allied with the United States, Israel's main backer.
“We can get to them later”
Another Israeli familiar with the dissent from the agency also questioned Netanyahu’s timing of the attack.
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“We can get them (Hamas leadership) in one, two, or four years from now, and the Mossad knows how to do it,” the Israeli said. “Why do it now?”
According to the report, Barnea was also not the only one to dissent to such an operation. Israel defense forces chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir had also objected to the timing of the strike for fear of derailing the negotiations.
However, strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer and defense minister Israel Katz had agreed to Netanyahu’s move to proceed.
Why did Netanyahu target Hamas leaders in Qatar?
Former Israeli official and analyst at the Israel Policy Forum, Nimrod Novik, suggested that Netanyahu may have targeted Qatar to thwart a Trump administration proposal he opposed, or to send a warning to Persian Gulf countries promoting Palestinian statehood.
“The same person who asked Qatar to host Hamas, to fund Hamas, and to mediate with Hamas has suddenly become hostile to the same regime,” Novik said, according to the Washington Post.
“If you want to convey ‘I don’t share the same allegiance to Qatar’ as [my former aides], then nothing can nail that objective more than a military strike in Qatar,” he added.
