Blast site of Israel's attack on Qatar does not match narrative of operation, experts say

Key details are missing about how Israel carried out its unprecedented attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar, raising questions about whether the number of missiles fired attributed to Israel is correct or whether Israel had a team on the ground helping locate the group's officials.

To begin with, current and former US officials and analysts tell Middle East Eye that the blast site attributed to the Israeli attack is much too small to corroborate several media reports that Israel fired around 10 air-launched missiles into the building.

Some eyewitnesses reported hearing upwards of eight blasts during the attack, but experts say that some of those reports might have been confused with the echoing. 

“Based on the public source imagery of the site, we are talking about two or three missiles maximum going into that building,” Michael Knights, a military expert at Horizon Engage, an international consulting firm, told MEE.

Understanding how Israel conducted its attack is important because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel could strike Hamas officials abroad again, potentially leaving the door open to attacks in Egypt and Turkey, where they travel. 

Read more: Blast site of Israel's attack on Qatar does not match narrative of operation, experts say