Herzog: Doha strike hoped to open door to end of war

Herzog, who is expected to meet with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer later today, stressed that it was Hamas’ foreign-based leadership, rather than its commanders inside Gaza, that had been most resistant to compromise.

Removing those figures, he argued, could improve the chances of striking an agreement with the movement’s leaders still on the ground.

Channel 12 reported yesterday that Israeli officials believed al-Hayya had been killed in the strike, but it is now understood that this may not be the case.

Jerusalem is said to be growing increasingly pessimistic that senior Hamas leaders were among the six people reported to have been killed.

Hamas denied that any of its leadership had been killed, though it has previously done so in similar cases, only to confirm casualties weeks, or even months, later.

And an official later quoted by Channel 12 said: “Right now there’s no indication that the terrorists were killed.

"We continue to hope they were assassinated, but optimism is fading.”

Palestinian media reported that al-Hayya's son, Himam, and Jihad Labad, the director of his office, were among six people killed, as well as a member of the Qatari security services.

It comes after the strike was subject to significant backlash internationally, with even the White House condemning the operation.

President Trump told reporters that he was “very unhappy about every aspect” of the strike on a US ally.

“I'm not thrilled about it,” he told reporters in Washington.

"It's not a good situation but I will say this: We want the hostages back, but we're not thrilled about the way it went down today.” In a social media post, however, he also said that “this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace.”

And White House Karoline Leavitt, told reporters that the administration had not given the green light for the attack, despite reports to the contrary.

She went on: "Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States,...does not advance Israel or America's goals.

"However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited of the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal."

The Qataris, meanwhile, have labelled the attack an act of “state terrorism” and said it reserves the right to retaliate against Israel, though it did not specify in what form such retaliation could come.