Mossad said to have refused to carry out ground op to kill Hamas leaders in Qatar

The Mossad spy agency refused to carry out a planned ground operation to kill Hamas's leaders in Doha, fearing that the operation would doom hostage-ceasefire talks and damage the agency's ties with Qatar, a key Mideast mediator, the Washington Post noted Friday, Report informs referring to The Times of Israel.

Instead, Israel was forced to carry out airstrikes, which Israel's security establishment now increasingly believes failed to kill any of Hamas's top brass who were gathered at the site of  Tuesday's strike in Doha.

That assessment was strengthened Friday, when Hamas announced that its Qatar-based leader Khalil al-Hayya performed funeral rites for his "martyred" son Hammam, effectively negating initial rumors that the terror group's chief was killed in the attack.

Amid the fallout from the apparent failed strike, reports began to emerge of significant opposition to the plan, both in the way it was carried out and the timing amid ongoing hostage talks.

A senior official with knowledge of talks on the hostage release-ceasefire deal told Channel 12 that most of the defense establishment recommended that the attack be put off.

"The position was clear - there is a deal for the return of the hostages on the table, and the negotiations should be exhausted. Everyone understood the consequences for the hostages and that an operation like this at the current time could harm this possibility," the official said.

Channel 12 reported that the plan was opposed by IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir, Mossad chief David Barnea and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi.

It said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, acting Shin Bet chief known as "Mem," and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer were in favor of the attack.

Nitzan Alon, who heads the hostage negotiations, was reportedly not invited to the discussion on the operation, with top officials assuming he would object to any action that could endanger the hostages.

The Mossad spy agency even declined to carry out a ground operation it had itself drawn up in recent weeks to assassinate the Hamas leaders, forcing the adoption of an air strike, two Israelis familiar with the matter told The Washington Post on Friday.

Mossad chief Barnea opposed killing the leaders in Qatar due to the spy agency's relationship with Doha as well as its role as a mediator in talks with Hamas, the sources said.

Israel's announcement of the strike said it had been carried out by the Air Force, in conjunction with the Shin Bet security service. The operation was even monitored from a Shin Bet command center.

The Shin Bet is normally tasked with domestic security, while the Mossad handles operations abroad.