Extract from ABC News
CCTV captures the Israeli strike in Doha.
It was early afternoon when the explosions started.
Mehran Kamrava, a professor at Georgetown University in Doha, was teaching a class on Persian Gulf politics at the time.
Initially he joked about Qatar coming under attack, never imagining that less than 15 kilometres away, Israel was carrying out deadly air strikes on an upscale residential district.
"We were talking about Qatar's response to Iran's missile attack on the US Al Udeid base back in June," he told ABC Radio National Breakfast.
"And then we heard these loud booms and we joked, 'Oh, maybe it's the Iranians attacking again.'
"I thought they were just loud sounds in the background. I never would have imagined that they would be explosions."
When reality struck, the mood quickly turned to shock and disillusionment.
A building damaged by the Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha. (Reuters: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)
Israel had never carried out air strikes in the Western-backed Gulf state before.
It said its attack in Doha on Tuesday targeted senior Hamas leaders at the venue of repeated rounds of Gaza peace talks.
Hamas confirmed that five of its members were killed, including the son of the militant group's exiled Gaza chief, Khalil al-Hayya.
Professor Kamrava said Qataris had "long felt immune" to instability across the region, especially as Qatar is home to Al Udeid — the largest US military air base in the Middle East.
"There's a sense of shock and anger among the population,"he said.
Qatar quickly accused Israel of "reckless" behaviour and breaking international law, and the attack has been widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond.
Now questions are being raised about how it could have happened.
Jets that 'struck from a distance'
The targeted West Bay Lagoon area is under high security.
It is close to Doha's central business district, and home to many foreign embassies, wealthy residences, schools and supermarkets.
According to the Israeli military, it conducted a "precise strike" targeted at Hamas senior leaders in the area using "precise munitions".
Israeli media are reporting that the strikes involved 15 Israeli fighter jets, firing 10 munitions against a single target.
Ahmed Hashim, professor of war studies at Deakin University, said Israel had intelligence tentacles that reached far across the region.
"It would not be farfetched to conclude that they knew exactly where the Hamas leaders would be," he told the ABC.
Analysts believe that Israel likely used F-35 fighter jets in the attack. (Reuters: Amir Cohen)
Professor Hashim, who stressed that his views were his own, said it was likely that Israel used its modified Adir version of the US F-35 fighter jets, accompanied by its customised F-15I Ra'ams for "air cover".
Israel usually keeps about 46 Adir F-35 jets at its Nevatim air base, which is 2,250 kilometres from Doha, Professor Hashim said.
The Adirs can be fitted with fuel tanks that allow them to fly about 2,200km, but they do not need to be flown all the way to a target.
"The missiles would do the job from a stand-off distance," Professor Hashim said.
"I don't think the planes were over the Doha district. They struck from a distance with precision. And I think they were guided there by intelligence provided by ground."
Jets may have been undetected
The jets would have needed to fly over Saudi Arabia, and most likely Jordan, to reach Qatar.
But given the stealth nature of the F-35 jets, they could have possibly gone unnoticed.
"Maybe the Saudis couldn't pick it up. But even if the Saudis would've picked them up, I don't think they would've tangled with them," Professor Hashim said.
"They probably had an air defence cover with some of the missiles to protect the strike package from any foreign intervention by air."
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put out a statement shortly after the strike, claiming the attack was "a wholly independent Israeli operation".
US President Donald Trump said he was not notified in advance of the attack, and it was a decision made solely by the Israeli prime minister.
The White House said by the time the US military was made aware of the attack, it was "unfortunately, too late" to stop it.
Retired Lieutenant General Mark Schwartz, who served as US security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, said the comments indicated that the White House was notified of the attack as it was unfolding.
"US Central Command, based on seeing aircraft, either inside of Qatari airspace or in close proximity, notified the White House of the attack as it was ongoing," he told ABC News Radio.
But some analysts have their doubts.
Smoke rises from an explosion, allegedly caused by an Israeli strike, in Doha. (UGC via AP)
Aaron David Miller, an American Middle East analyst and former negotiator, said his first reaction was that there was "no way" the US could not have known about the attack ahead of time.
"I still think the Americans had some indication that this operation was going to take place, but the Israelis gave them plausible denial by basically claiming very soon after the operation, this was an entirely Israeli affair," he told the ABC.
"And the Trump administration claims to have been notified by the Israeli military and then briefed the Qataris 10 minutes after the attacks occurred … The ducks do not line up here.
"My sense is the Trump administration probably had a pretty good sense that there was an operation pending, and had time to stop it."
Aaron David Miller said Trump must have known Israel strike on Doha was happening.
US nearby air defences
The US Central Command has its headquarters at the Al Udeid Air Base, which is about 30km from where the attack took place.
It is home to more than 11,000 US and Coalition service members.
US-developed Patriot missile batteries are also deployed at the base and throughout the region.
The Patriot is a long-range missile defence system that was used to successfully defend Al Udeid against Iranian missiles in June.
Israel's F-35 jets carry one-tonne penetration bombs and air-to-ground missiles.
Professor Hashim said Patriots were designed to shoot down ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft, and would not have worked against the F-35's weapons.
"I don't think the US knew about it until the missiles were in the air, and by that time it was too late," he said.
"I don't think they would've been able to shoot down an air-to-ground missile carried by the F-35. That's my opinion, but I'm still looking into the technicalities of it."
But even given the chance to intervene, he added that "it is unlikely that the US would shoot down IAF (Israeli Air Force) aircraft".
Qatar and many of its neighbours have relatively small militaries, and the incident has raised doubts about historical US security guarantees for its Gulf Arab allies.
After the strike, Mr Trump spoke to both Mr Netanyahu and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
He assured Qatar's leader that "such a thing will not happen again on their soil," adding he felt "very badly" about the location of the attack.
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