Israel Used Space-Faring Ballistic Missiles in Qatar Strike, Report Reveals

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In a secret and daring military operation designed to strike with breathtaking speed while circumventing its American allies, Israel used a squadron of advanced jet fighters positioned over the Red Sea to launch ballistic missiles into space on a high arc over Saudi Arabia, targeting the political leadership of Hamas in the heart of Doha, Qatar. The strike on Tuesday, which relied on a complex and long-range attack vector to leave Washington in the dark until the final moments, ultimately failed to kill its primary targets and has sent shockwaves through the Middle East, threatening to upend delicate peace negotiations and further isolating Israel on the world stage, according to a detailed investigation by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

This account of the attack, which the WSJ based on interviews with multiple senior U.S. officials briefed on the operation, peels back the curtain on one of the most daring and geopolitically risky Israeli military actions in recent memory.

The details illustrate not only Israel's formidable long-range strike capabilities but also its willingness to take unilateral action that directly blindsided the Trump administration, its most crucial ally, at a moment of intense diplomatic engagement.

The Israeli war planners, in plotting the secret strike, deliberately chose a plan that would limit the opportunity for the United States to object.

The operation involved a sophisticated maneuver in which a dozen Israeli jet fighters, including eight F-15s and four F-35s, flew to the Red Sea, a body of water on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from Qatar. From this distant staging ground, some of the planes fired their air-launched ballistic missiles.

The munitions traveled up into space, traversing the skies high above Saudi Arabia before descending on their target in Doha. This high-trajectory flight path was a calculated move, designed to avoid direct accusations of violating Saudi Arabia’s sovereign airspace in a conventional manner, though Saudi officials have since condemned the attack without publicly referencing the missile transit over their territory.

The speed and secrecy of the operation left the United States scrambling to react.

According to U.S. officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, it was not until mere minutes before the missiles were launched that Israel provided a cursory notification to the U.S. military that an attack against Hamas was underway, without initially providing precise information on the target.

While space-based U.S. sensors that detect infrared heat signatures immediately picked up the launch and the trajectory of the missiles, confirming Doha as the destination, the information came far too late for any diplomatic intervention.

"Notice was given so close to actual launching of missiles that there was no way to reverse or halt the order," a senior U.S. defense official told the WSJ, calling the operation "absolutely unimaginable."

The warning set off a frantic but futile chain of communication. The U.S. Central Command alerted the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, who in turn informed the White House.

President Donald Trump immediately directed his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to notify the Qataris, but it was too late. The government of Qatar confirmed that the American warning arrived approximately 10 minutes after the missiles had already landed in its capital.

The aftermath of the strike has been a mixture of military failure and severe diplomatic fallout. The primary targets of the operation—Hamas’s top political leaders, including Khalil Al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, who were gathered to discuss the latest U.S. proposal for a ceasefire—were not killed.

Arab officials familiar with the incident told the WSJ that the Hamas leaders were not in the room that was hit but were nearby, with some suffering serious injuries and being rushed to the hospital. Instead, the Israeli strike killed an array of lower-ranking Hamas officials and, in a significant blow to the host nation, a member of Qatar’s internal security force.

A visit to the targeted building by a Wall Street Journal reporter revealed that while the middle floor was largely destroyed, the rest of the structure remained standing, suggesting a highly precise strike with small warheads. The surrounding streets were sealed off by military and security forces.

The reaction from Qatar was one of outrage.

"Israel, led by blusterous extremists, has gone beyond any borders, any limitations when it comes to behavior," Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York.

Posing a question that now hangs over the future of the entire peace process, he asked, "How can we host Israeli representatives when they have committed this attack?"

The Security Council on Thursday did condemn the strike, but the statement, which was agreed to by all 15 members including the U.S., did not mention Israel by name.

The attack has also caused a significant rift between Israel and the White House. President Trump held a "heated call" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, conveying deep frustration at being blindsided and arguing that the attack was unwise, according to officials.

The strike has set back years of diplomatic efforts to build relations between Israel and Gulf Arab states and may hinder U.S. efforts to build a regional air defense system aimed at Iran.

Arab leaders were reportedly enraged and plan to meet soon in Doha to craft a response.

An Israeli researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, Ofer Guterman, told the WSJ, "I think this attack is another landmark in portraying Israel as a rogue state not taking into account international laws and norms... it amplifies the fear we see among Arab states that Israel is now a loose cannon with hegemonic aspirations."