Singaporeans in Doha Confident About Safety Despite Israel's Attack

It began with the birds – flocks of them, flying erratically, some nearly crashing into the windows of homes in the city of Doha, Qatar.

- Ian Cheng

Singaporean homemaker Selena Ahmad Alkaff, 43, was sitting down to a meal with her children when they noticed the unusual sight on Sept 9. Then they heard what sounded like explosions.

The blasts were powerful enough to shake Ms Charis Hsieh's apartment nearby, and rattled her dog, which began whimpering and trembling.

Ms Hsieh also noticed the birds. "That was the time I believed something was very wrong," said the 54-year-old Singaporean homemaker.

Israel had just conducted an air strike on Wadi Rawdan Street, located in the upscale residential neighbourhood of West Bay Lagoon, just 8.5km away from Ms Hsieh's home. Its aim was to eliminate leaders of militant group Hamas, which said five of its members were killed.

It was an unprecedented attack inside the territory of an important US ally and key mediator in the Gaza ceasefire talks.

Amid the attack, Ms Selena, who has three children aged seven, 11 and 15, received a call from her husband, who asked her to check social media for reports of a large fire breaking out.

He sent her a photo of a huge cloud of smoke that he saw from his office tower, less than 5km from Wadi Rawdan Street.