How Israeli jets fired ballistic missiles from the Red Sea into Doha, killing six and derailing ceasefire efforts, U.S. officials reveal.
Israel i fighter jets launched ballistic missile s from the Red Sea to strike Hamas leaders in Qatar on September 9, in a move that bypassed regional air defense s and avoided crossing into Middle Eastern airspace.
The attack, which killed six people in Doha, disrupted ongoing ceasefire negotiations and raised alarm over the reach of Israel’s military capabilities.According to an Associated Press report, the strike took place as Hamas leaders met in Qatar’s capital to consider a proposal aimed at halting the nearly two-year-long war in Gaza. A week later, Israel began a ground offensive targeting Gaza City, further escalating tensions across the region.A strike from the Red SeaAccording to a U.S. defense official who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity, the missiles were launched by Israeli fighter jets flying over the Red Sea. This “over the horizon” tactic allowed Israel to conduct the strike from outside Qatar’s airspace while keeping the projectiles beyond the coverage of Gulf air defense systems.By launching the weapons into space before re-entry, Israel avoided flying missiles across Saudi Arabia, a country whose sovereignty it has sought not to violate as it continues to pursue a possible normalization deal. The attack trajectory, from west to east, also took advantage of gaps in monitoring by Qatar’s and U.S. defense systems, which typically focus on threats from Iran to the north and Houthi rebels in Yemen to the south.“The political factor, you’re not flying over Saudi airspace and violating their sovereignty in the process, which is obviously useful if you do harbor the hope of … normalizing things with the Saudis,” said Sidharth Kaushal, a missile expert at the London-based Royal United Services Institute.Overwhelming defensesThe attack highlighted the limits of Qatar’s Patriot missile batteries, which are designed to intercept aircraft and cruise missiles but not ballistic weapons traveling at several times the speed of sound through the upper atmosphere.“We’re probably talking about a few minutes from fire to impact, so not long at all,” Kaushal said. “Even if did pick it up, interception would have been dumb luck at that point.”The U.S. previously said that Qatar ordered a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, which can intercept ballistic missiles, during former President Donald Trump’s visit in 2017. However, Qatari officials said they were only alerted by Washington after the strike had already taken place.An Israeli official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed in the detailed AP report that about 10 planes participated in the mission, launching roughly the same number of missiles. Israel has not publicly acknowledged the weapons used or the details of the operation.Israel’s missile arsenalWhile the Israeli military, the Qatari government, and the Pentagon declined to comment, analysts suggest the strike likely involved air-launched ballistic missiles such as the Golden Horizon or a variant of the Sparrow. Both systems were disclosed in leaked U.S. intelligence documents last year and are known to be designed for long-range, high-speed strikes.Jeffrey Lewis, a Middlebury Institute of International Studies missile expert, said the Sparrow variant can be equipped with an inert warhead, which may explain the limited physical damage in Doha despite the lethal force. The White House declined to comment on the operation, referring all questions to the Israeli government.Wider implicationsThe use of air-launched ballistic missiles, while relatively rare globally, has been seen in recent conflicts. Russia has relied on them in Ukraine to keep aircraft out of range of air defenses, and China displayed a nuclear-capable version during a military parade earlier this month.For Israel, the tactic demonstrated technical sophistication and introduced a new dimension to regional security concerns. By catching both Qatari and American defense systems off guard, the Doha strike has amplified fears among Gulf states that they too could be targeted by unexpected trajectories.
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