Hamas’ military wing claimed responsibility Tuesday for a bus stop shooting a day earlier in Jerusalem that killed at least six people and wounded several others ahead of Israel’s anticipated offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Shortly after the statement of responsibility was issued by the Qassam Brigades, Israel launched surprise strikes against Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, where they had been considering a ceasefire proposal.
While almost certainly coincidental, the timing of the two events on Tuesday left little doubt that peace between Israel and Hamas would remain elusive for the foreseeable future. Despite efforts by the United States, Qatar and other countries to mediate a lasting ceasefire to the war, which began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas led the deadliest-ever attack on Israeli soil, talks have persistently stalled out.
The Hamas statement on Tuesday said that operatives for the Qassam Brigades, the group’s armed force, had opened fire at an intersection in Ramot, an area in Jerusalem’s northern outskirts. Israel took Ramot in the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 and later annexed it, but Palestinians and much of the rest of the world consider it a settlement in occupied territory.
The statement warned that Israel’s war in Gaza and its occupation of lands in the West Bank would “be met with the steadfastness of the people and the valor of the resistance.” It also said that two of its fighters were killed in the attack, and claimed that it had killed seven people — not six, as Israeli authorities had said.
The shootings at the crowded bus stop on Monday spurred, in part, the decision to launch the targeted strikes in Doha, according to an announcement issued Tuesday evening by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. The brazen attack in Qatar, a country that has long served as a negotiation site for Hamas and its adversaries, drew immediate backlash from other Arab countries in the region.
Netanyahu and the Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz, steadfastly defended the strikes.
Hamas “has not ceased from launching murderous operations against the state of Israel and its citizens, including taking responsibility for the murder of our citizens in yesterday’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem,” they said in a joint announcement from Netanyahu’s office.
Dozens of Israeli forces on Tuesday fanned across two villages near Ramallah, north of Jerusalem, where the two Qassam Brigades fighters had lived, Israeli authorities said.
In the village of Qatanna, Mayor Diaa al-Faqih said Israeli troops shut down all but one road out, causing an hourslong delay for six dialysis patients and three pregnant women who urgently needed to get to the hospital in Ramallah. Health and basic supplies were already running short, al-Faqih said in an interview.
In nearby Al-Qubeiba, the other village, Mayor Nafez Ibrahim Hamouda said at least 70% of homes had been searched by Israeli forces as of Tuesday afternoon. Strict curfews were being enforced in both villages, the mayors said.
The Israeli defense minister said he would revoke all 750 work and entry permits for Qatanna and Al-Qubeiba residents who work in Israel or otherwise need to enter. He also ordered the demolition of “every illegal structure in the villages,” although it was not clear on Tuesday how those buildings would be designated.