Has the Israeli airstrike on Qatar put ceasefire negotiations at risk?
Israel targeted Hamas leadership in Doha with an airstrike in an escalatory move on Tuesday. Six people were killed in the attack, although it did not harm the most senior Hamas leaders, according to the group.
The morning after an Israeli airstrike on Qatar's capital Doha killed six people - although not the intended targets among Hamas' leadership, according to the group -, confusion and criticism reign in the Middle East.
The attack is the first time that one of the mediating countries in the conflict between Israel and Hamas has been struck, and it leaves many open questions behind: is Israel abandoning the ceasefire negotiations, which were mediated by Qatar and the US, with Hamas? Will Qatar continue to lead negotiations? Will there be consequences and if so, what will they look like?
What is clear is that the attack angered Qatar, an energy-rich Gulf nation hosting thousands of American troops that has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas throughout the 23-month-old war and even before.
It condemned what it referred to as a “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms" as smoke rose over its capital, Doha.
Other key US allies in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, promised their support to Qatar.
Hamas meanwhile said in a statement its top leaders survived the strike but that five lower-level members were killed, including the son of Khalil al-Hayya — Hamas’ leader for Gaza and its top negotiator — three bodyguards, and the head of al-Hayya’s office. Hamas, which has sometimes only confirmed the assassination of its leaders months later, offered no immediate proof that al-Hayya and other senior figures had survived.
The United States said Israel alerted it before the strike. But American officials sought to distance the US from the attack. The White House said President Donald Trump believes the strike was an “unfortunate incident” that didn’t advance peace in the region.
Today