Hamas official Ghazi Hamad makes first public appearance since 'Israeli' strike on Qatar

Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official, spoke Wednesday in a live interview on Al Jazeera, marking the first public appearance by a Hamas leader since 'Israel’s' airstrike on Doha on September 9.

Hamad said the attack came “less than an hour after we began studying the proposal” for a Gaza ceasefire, referring to a meeting of senior Hamas officials discussing a US proposal delivered via Qatar.

“The rockets came down consecutively, without a pause, around 12 missiles in less than a minute,” he said, adding that the group “learned with complete certainty that it is an Israeli attack.”

Hamad described the attack as “treacherous” and said, “God destined us to survive this treacherous aggression against us and sister Qatar.”

Sources close to Hamas reported that Hamad was among six senior leaders present in the targeted building at the time of the strike. Others reportedly inside included chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, former chief Khaled Meshaal, West Bank head Zaher Jabarine, and political bureau members Bassem Naim and Taher al-Nounou.

Hamas has confirmed that Hayya’s son was killed in the attack. The movement has said the chief negotiator himself survived but has not provided proof of his condition.

The live interview is seen as a rare opportunity for Hamas to publicly recount its perspective on the attack and the events surrounding the ceasefire discussions.