If there was any remaining doubt, on Monday Israel made clear that it does not want a peaceful settlement to its war on Gaza, launching an air strike on Hamas officials in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
Five members of the group and a Qatari official were killed, but the attack does not appear to have gone as planned. The group’s top leadership, including its exiled Gaza leader and chief ceasefire negotiator, who was reportedly the intended target, survived.
Regardless, the impact has been massive. The White House has attempted to distance itself from the strike – even appearing somewhat critical of Israel – but Donald Trump’s suggestion that he was not involved in the decision to launch it is risible. The US has an advanced air defence warning system staffed by its own personnel in Israel and other tracking systems in Jordan, while Qatar houses the US’s largest Air Force base in the Middle East.
In Israel’s view, any efforts at peace talks are just getting in the way of its plans to destroy Hamas and force Gaza’s remaining Palestinians into a small ‘humanitarian zone’ conveniently close to the Egyptian border. This position is not new. On targeted assassinations aiming to wreck peace deals and ensure it gets its own way, Israel has form stretching back decades.
