The Hamas leadership has survived Israel’s “cowardly assassination attempt” in the Qatari capital Doha, Suhail al-Hindi, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, has told Al Jazeera.

But al-Hindi confirmed that a number of people were killed in the bombing, including the son and office manager of Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya.

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He said the Palestinian group holds the US administration responsible for the attack, which the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned “in the strongest terms.” Doha called the assault a “blatant violation of all international laws and norms”.

“The State of Qatar affirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and its continued tampering with regional security, as well as any action targeting its security and sovereignty,” ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Hamas leaders, al-Hindi said, were meeting with a positive outlook on the US ceasefire proposal to end the war in Gaza that has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians in less than two years.

Explosions were reported in Doha in the first such attack by Israel in Qatar, a key mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas and home to the region’s largest US military base, Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts US troops.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed in a statement that the Israeli military carried out the attack in Doha on Tuesday against Hamas leaders.

Al Jazeera correspondent Nida Ibrahim said from Doha that the unprecedented attack on the city, which has hosted negotiations for a potential ceasefire in Gaza, reflected how “emboldened” Israel has become “by being able to carry out a genocide and getting away with it”.

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Israel has been bombarding Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria as well as carrying out daily attacks in the occupied West Bank in Palestine.