Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-09-10 at 08:11

HEADLINES
Doha strike six dead Hamas leaders
Hostage families demand return of all captives
China condemns Doha strike UN to meet

The time is now 4:01 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

From the early hours, a precarious balance persists in the region as Israel continues a campaign against leadership figures tied to Hamas and allied groups, even as questions about hostage negotiations and regional ceasefires linger. In Doha, a strike attributed to Israeli forces targeted a Hamas gathering described by Hamas as a senior leadership meeting. The official Hamas account said six people were killed, including Humam al-Hayya, son of a co-chair of Hamas’s politburo, along with his office director, three bodyguards, and a Qatari security officer. Hamas also said none of its top leaders were among the dead, a claim that has footprint in the competing narratives surrounding the operation. The airstrike marks a notable development: it is described as the first time Israel has carried out airstrikes on Qatari soil, and it follows a pattern of high-profile actions aimed at disrupting Hamas’ command and control as Israeli and allied policymakers weigh the consequences for hostage negotiations and regional stability.

International responses to the Doha strike have already begun to surface. China’s foreign ministry condemned the Israeli strikes on Doha, asserting that Israel’s actions violate Qatar’s territorial sovereignty and raising concerns about potential escalation in the region. In parallel, the United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet to discuss the strike, signaling that a moment of international diplomacy is underway even as the fighting continues. The strike also prompted commentary from political figures abroad. Former President Donald Trump asserted that he had warned Qatar in advance of possible Israeli action and characterized the strike as a unilateral move by Israel, while suggesting that the broader objective—ending the conflict and securing the return of hostages—could present an opening for peace. Trump said he had instructed the United States in the region to coordinate with Qatar, including an effort to finalize a defense cooperation agreement, though he framed the event as driven by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rather than by Washington.

On the ground in the region, the hostage issue remains central to the war’s calculus. Around Israel’s Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, families of the 48 hostages and missing persons announced plans for a mass march and a vigil, insisting that all hostages be returned and calling for a clear, concrete plan toward a comprehensive deal that would end the fighting in Gaza. The families and their supporters argue that progress on hostage recovery is inseparable from broader efforts to end the current cycle of violence, a point that resonates across Hebrew, Arabic, and international media coverage.

In parallel, regional dynamics continue to shift in ways that could influence the balance of power. Israel has framed its operations as part of a broader campaign against Hamas and other Iran-backed groups that stretch from Gaza to Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. The Times of Israel and other outlets have cataloged a series of senior decapitations carried out by Israeli forces against Hamas leadership, Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, and other Iranian-proxy figures in recent years, underscoring a pattern in which leadership figures are targeted to degrade operational capability. The current Doha strike sits within that pattern, though its location outside the immediate Gaza Strip has amplified questions about risk, sovereignty, and the potential for escalation with regional actors and their backers.

In Europe and beyond, wider security considerations pepper the international response. Paris has reportedly weighed retaliatory options should...