ALBAWABA- An Israeli airstrike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha killed Hammam al-Hayya, son of senior Hamas figure Dr. Khalil al-Hayya, and his office director Jihad Labbad, known as Abu Bilal, Hamas officials confirmed on Monday.
Suheil al-Hindi, a member of Hamas’s Political Bureau, told Al Jazeera that “a group of martyrs, headed by Jihad Labbad and Hammam Khalil al-Hayya, ascended in the bombing,” while stressing that the movement’s leadership survived the “cowardly assassination attempt.”
According to al-Hindi, the strike hit the Hamas delegation during a meeting in the Qatari capital to discuss a recent US proposal.
He vowed that the group “will not raise the white flag, will not lay down our weapons, and will resist the occupier with all our strength,” adding that Hamas holds the American administration responsible for the attack.
In response, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, speaking during a visit to the UK, openly backed the strike. “The decision of the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister to strike at the top leadership of Hamas terrorism is important and correct,” he said, describing Khalil al-Hayya as “a murderous terrorist with the blood of thousands on his hands and one of the architects of the October 7 massacre.”
Herzog insisted that Israel remains committed to securing the release of hostages and “fighting absolute evil with determination.”
Meanwhile, Hebrew Channel 14 reported on Tuesday evening that the Israeli Air Force crossed Jordanian, Syrian, Iraqi, and Saudi airspace to execute the strike, which Tel Aviv has code-named the “Day of Reckoning” operation.
On his part, the Speaker of the Israeli Knesset released a video of the strike, calling it a “message to the entire Middle East.”
