Tensions and anger are mounting among families of Israeli captives following the Israeli occupation’s attempt to assassinate senior Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital, Doha, amid fears the move will derail negotiations and jeopardize prospects for a prisoner exchange.

Israeli Channel 13 quoted the captives’ families’ headquarters as saying, “The possibility of recovering the captives now faces more uncertainty than ever before, with great concern over the price that may have to be paid.”

In a fierce rebuke aired by Channel 12, Einav Zangauker, the mother of captive Metan Zangauker, directly accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of endangering her son’s life. “Netanyahu may have decided my son Metan’s fate: death. Whoever deliberately puts my son’s life at risk, I will kill him,” she declared.

Families turn to Supreme Court

She went on to ask, “Why does Netanyahu insist on destroying every small chance for a deal? My son’s life is in real danger.”

Zangauker accused the government of repeatedly undermining negotiations: “Time after time, the prime minister ruins the deal—any deal on the table. I am tired, Israelis are tired of this war. Stop it now and bring back all the captives in a comprehensive agreement.”

The families also filed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court demanding an official explanation of the government’s policy on the war and negotiations. In their statement, they said: “We submitted a petition to the Supreme Court to examine the government’s violation of the rights of the captives and their families.”

The backlash comes after the Israeli occupation military and the Shin Bet internal security agency jointly announced they had launched concentrated strikes on Doha aimed at targeting Hamas’ senior leadership.

Hamas delegation survives Israeli attack

In a statement, the Israeli occupation military, in coordination with its internal security agency, Shin Bet, announced that it carried out an airstrike on the Qatari capital, Doha, claiming to target the senior leadership of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

Israeli Channel 12, citing military sources, reported that the strikes targeted members of the Hamas negotiating delegation while they were discussing the latest US-mediated proposal in Doha.

However, a senior Hamas source told Al Mayadeen that the movement’s negotiating delegation survived the Israeli assassination attempt in Doha. 

Reuters correspondents confirmed hearing loud explosions in the Qatari capital, noting plumes of smoke rising over the Katara district.

This brazen Israeli strike on Hamas’ negotiating delegation in Doha exposes once again the pattern of aggression that has defined Israeli and American conduct, using violence at the very moment when talks for peace are on the table. Just as Washington and Tel Aviv undermined dialogue before they attacked Iran in June, they now repeat the same tactic against the Palestinian resistance, targeting representatives engaged in negotiations.

Israeli regime, US undermining negotiations

The Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas strongly condemned what it described as a “treacherous assassination attempt” by the Israeli occupation targeting its negotiating delegation in the Qatari capital, Doha.

In an official statement, Hamas said, “The treacherous attempt by the Zionist occupation to assassinate the Hamas negotiating delegation in Doha today is a heinous crime, a blatant act of aggression, and a flagrant violation of all international norms and laws.”

The movement tied the attack directly to ongoing negotiations: “Targeting the negotiating delegation, at the very moment it was discussing the latest proposal of US President Donald Trump, confirms beyond any doubt that Netanyahu and his government do not want to reach any agreement. They are deliberately working to sabotage every opportunity and derail international efforts, regardless of the fate of their prisoners, state sovereignty, or regional security.”

Hamas also accused Washington of complicity; “We hold the US administration jointly responsible with the occupation for this crime, given its constant support for aggression and the crimes of the occupation against our people.”

The statement further declared that the attack highlighted the broader danger of the Israeli occupation's policies: “This crime proves once again that the Zionist occupation is a grave threat to the region and the world. Netanyahu seeks to erase our national cause and the rights of our people, pushing them toward forced displacement, while continuing his criminal schemes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, starvation, and expulsion.”