Live updates: Israel carries out attack in Qatar targeting Hamas leaders, Israeli source says

A staggering attack from Israel in Doha, Qatar, threatens to torpedo a deal to end the war in Gaza and potentially damage the US-Qatar relationship.

Israel’s military said the United States was aware in advance of its strike in Qatar which, if true, will likely be seen by Doha as an affront, or even a betrayal.

Qatar is host to the largest US base in the Middle East and has enjoyed a very strong relationship with the US for decades. It has facilitated talks, on occasion at the United States’ behest, with various non-state actors and militant groups, including the Taliban and Hamas.

More pressingly, the strike is likely to derail negotiations to end the war in Gaza which, according to some sources, were reaching an inflection point.

When Hamas’ previous leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Tehran in July 2024, the prime minister of Qatar posted on X: “Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?”

For the region, there is a chilling effect. If an ally as close to the US as Qatar can come under attack by Israel, who might be next?

While the strike is the first publicly known Israeli military attack on Qatari soil, it’s not the first time Doha has been entangled in Israel’s conflicts.

Qatar was on the receiving end of Iranian missiles when Al Udeid Air Base came under attack this year after the US struck nuclear facilities in Iran during Israel’s June campaign. It now has legitimate reason to seriously reconsider its role as a facilitator for negotiations in this conflict.