In the past three days, Israel has launched strikes in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar, and Yemen – marking the sixth country targeted in just 72 hours and the seventh since the start of the year, reports Aljazeera.
On Tuesday, Israel carried out a targeted air strike in Doha, Qatar, hitting a Hamas leadership compound during a meeting on a US-proposed Gaza ceasefire.
Six people were killed, including the son of senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, his office director, three bodyguards, and a Qatari security officer. Hamas’s top leaders reportedly survived.
The strike, nearly 2,000km from Israel, was the first Israeli attack inside Qatar. Explosions shook the capital’s West Bay Lagoon district, home to embassies, schools, and residential compounds. Israel later confirmed the attack.
Qatar has long hosted Hamas leaders at the request of the United States, which operates its regional CENTCOM command centre about 35km away.
Israeli forces continue heavy bombardments across Gaza, killing at least 150 people and wounding more than 540 since Monday.
On Monday, 67 people were killed, including 14 seeking aid, while six others – two of them children – died of famine-related causes. Another 83 were killed and 223 wounded on Tuesday.
Israel has intensified its assault on Gaza City, targeting high-rise buildings, destroying infrastructure, and displacing residents.
Since October 2023, at least 64,656 people have been killed in Gaza, including 404 who died from starvation. Thousands remain missing under the rubble and are presumed dead.
Breach of truce in Lebanon
On Monday at 1pm local time, Israeli warplanes struck Lebanon’s Bekaa and Hermel districts, killing at least five people. Israel claimed the raids targeted Hezbollah depots and facilities, though the claim could not be independently verified. Hezbollah has not issued a response.
The strikes marked another breach of the November ceasefire agreement. Israel continues near-daily attacks in southern Lebanon and maintains its occupation of five border outposts in violation of withdrawal terms.
On Tuesday, an Israeli drone strike near Barja, 30km south of Beirut, wounded a Hezbollah member.
Escalation in Syria
Late Monday, Israeli warplanes struck a Syrian air force base in Homs and a military barracks near Latakia.
Residents reported powerful explosions and ambulances rushing to the sites. Casualty figures have not been confirmed. Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned the raids as a “blatant violation” of sovereignty and a direct threat to security. State media described them as part of a series of Israeli escalations undermining Syrian stability.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israel has carried out nearly 100 strikes in Syria this year, including 86 air raids and 11 ground assaults, destroying about 135 sites and killing 61 people.
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel has also expanded its control in the occupied Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarized buffer zone in violation of a 1974 disengagement agreement.
Flotilla attacked in Tunisia
On Monday night, the Global Sumud Flotilla’s (GSF) main ship, the Family Boat, was hit by a suspected Israeli drone while docked at Tunisia’s Sidi Bou Said port.
The 23-metre vessel, sailing under a Portuguese flag, carried six people including the flotilla’s steering committee. A fire damaged the main deck and storage areas but was quickly put out. All passengers were unharmed.
The Family Boat is part of a coalition of more than 50 vessels with delegates from 44 nations aiming to challenge Israel’s Gaza blockade. It departed on August 31 before joining other ships at Sidi Bou Said.
On Tuesday night, another flotilla vessel, the Alma, sailing under a UK flag, was also hit by a suspected Israeli drone in Tunisian waters. The strike caused fire damage to the ship’s top deck, but no casualties were reported.
Since 2010, several flotillas have attempted to break the Gaza blockade, most intercepted or attacked by Israel in international waters.
Strike in Yemen
On Wednesday, Israel bombed Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, hitting Houthi positions at the airport. It was the second strike on the airport in a month, following one in May that destroyed its terminal and damaged the runway.
On August 28, Israeli strikes in Sanaa killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and several senior officials during a government meeting.