Since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel ignited its war in Gaza, the Israeli military has targeted Hamas leaders far afield. But while Tehran and Beirut were seen as fair game, Israel had refrained from striking Hamas' political office in Qatar, the key mediator and U.S. ally that Israeli leadership relied on as a back channel to the Palestinian militant group.
On Tuesday, Israel made a dangerous gamble, analysts say, poisoning Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks, sending political shock waves through the region and raising doubts about historical U.S. security guarantees for its Gulf Arab allies. It didn't immediately pay off for Israel: Hamas claims its senior leadership survived the strike.
- The apparent U.S. disregard for Qatari security and sovereignty rattled nerves across the sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf. While Emiratis and Saudis view political Islam as a threat and loathe Hamas, experts say they'd prefer a detente with their weakened rivals to the continuation of an ever-widening war that could trigger strikes on their soil.
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