The recent twelve-day war between Israel and Iran has dramatically altered the balance of power in the Middle East, sending shockwaves across a region already fraught with tensions and fragile diplomatic efforts. 

The conflict revealed one undeniable truth: the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have emerged as the unrivaled military power in the region. While Tehran’s defeat was expected and, to many outside Iran, met with little surprise or concern, Israel’s decision to carry out a precision strike on Doha represents a far more profound and destabilizing development — one that challenges not just Iran or Hamas, but the entire Arab world.

The strike was officially aimed at eliminating the leadership of Hamas, a militant organization that has long thrived on the suffering of Gaza’s population. Yet the broader consequences go far beyond counterterrorism. This was the first time that the sovereignty of a United Nations member state — and a close U.S. and Türkiye ally — was so openly violated by Israel. 

Qatar has historically played the role of mediator in some of the region’s most sensitive conflicts, hosting peace negotiations and providing channels of communication between warring parties. For Israeli missiles to strike the heart of Doha was not just a military operation — it was a symbolic act that reverberated through Arab and Islamic capitals, challenging years of careful diplomacy.

According to intelligence reports, on Tuesday, September 9, fifteen Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out a series of ten precision missile strikes on a single building in Doha. The building, Israeli officials claimed, housed top Hamas leaders who were meeting to discuss a U.S.-backed peace proposal for Gaza. 

The operation, codenamed Fiery Summit, was meticulously planned and executed, even involving aerial refueling aircraft to ensure success. The strike demonstrated Israel’s ability to project power with surgical precision far beyond its borders.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, known for his uncompromising stance on security, was unequivocal in his statement to the world:
“Today’s actions against the leaders of a terrorist organization were entirely an Israeli operation. Israel initiated it, Israel carried it out, and Israel fully accepts responsibility.”

Media reports later confirmed that Israel had informed both the Qatari authorities and the United States prior to the strike, though it remains unclear exactly how much advance warning was given. 

A senior Hamas source speaking to Al Jazeera revealed that the group’s leadership was in the middle of sensitive discussions about President Donald Trump’s latest ceasefire proposal when the attack occurred. This timing was particularly explosive: just two days earlier, Trump had issued what he described as a “final warning” to Hamas, echoing the ultimatum he once delivered to Iran. 

In that earlier case, Tehran was given sixty days to accept a U.S. proposal before Israeli forces — with tacit American approval — struck Iran’s nuclear facilities. Now, history seemed to be repeating itself in Gaza.

President Trump himself weighed in shortly after the attack through a post on his Truth Social platform. He stressed that the decision to strike Hamas leadership in Doha was made unilaterally by Israel and that he had learned of it through U.S. military channels rather than directly from Netanyahu.

“As soon as I was informed,” Trump wrote, “I immediately ordered my special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to notify the Qatari leadership — but it was already too late to prevent the strike.”

Trump was unusually candid in acknowledging Washington’s discomfort:

“An unsanctioned strike on the territory of Qatar — a sovereign state and close ally of the United States that has been working tirelessly and at great risk to mediate peace talks — does not serve the long-term goals of either Israel or America.”

However, he added a pointed qualifier: “The destruction of Hamas, which profits from the suffering of those living in Gaza, remains a worthy and just goal.”

In an attempt to defuse tensions, Trump revealed that he had personally spoken with both Qatar’s Emir and Prime Minister. During those conversations, he thanked them for their cooperation and assured them that nothing similar would occur again on their territory.
Yet Netanyahu’s subsequent remarks struck a very different tone.

“To Qatar and every nation that harbors terrorists,” he declared, “either you expel them or bring them to justice. If you do not, Israel will do it for you.”

This blunt warning underscored the widening gap between Washington’s diplomatic caution and Israel’s increasingly aggressive approach.