September 9, 2025, will be remembered as a dark day in the history of the Middle East; 15 Israeli planes bombed the Qatari capital of Doha in the hopes of killing the remaining living Hamas senior officials.

The situation is paradoxical; at the moment of the strike, Hamas senior officials were discussing the US plan to resolve the Gaza conflict. Trump’s proposal provided for Hamas releasing all hostages on the first day (20 living and 28 corpses), Israel withdrawing troops from the entire territory of Gaza and the beginning of the liberation of about 1,000 Palestinians. On the second day, Trump would then personally take over the negotiations on the political transition and reconstruction of Gaza.

Qatar suspends mediation efforts

The Israeli strike did not produce the desired results, as senior Hamas officials managed to escape. However, there is currently no talk of any negotiations on Gaza, because Qatar has suspended its mediation role. The Israeli Air Force raid on Doha undoubtedly undermined Israel’s position in the international arena, with its credibility plummeting even further. Most of the world’s states have condemned this act of state terror. Even Israel’s American patrons hastened to distance themselves from the affair, saying that they had no prior knowledge of the Israeli bombing of Doha.

The US President praised Qatar’s efforts in mediating between the various parties to the conflicts and called on the Emir not to stop participating in the ceasefire talks in Gaza.

A number of experts expressed confidence that Qatar will continue to play a mediating role in indirect talks between the Palestinian Hamas movement and the Israeli leadership, despite Tel Aviv’s strike on Doha.

Yet another act of state terror

Qatar is one of the key partners of the United States in the region, and now Israel has bombed the territory of its patron’s important ally. Just 4 months ago, during his visit to Doha, Donald Trump made a number of deals amounting to $1.2 trillion, and the Qatari authorities gifted him a royal Boeing-747 worth $400 million, which has already begun its assimilation into “Air Force One”. The main American base in the Middle East is located in Qatar, with about 10,000 soldiers and officers regularly serving there, and Qatar promised to invest around ten billion dollars in its development following Trump’s May tour of the Middle East.

The Israeli bombing came as an unpleasant surprise to Washington, showing the limited U.S. influence on Israel. Washington stated that unilaterally bombing a country that works very hard and bravely takes risks with the United States to achieve peace does not contribute to achieving Israeli and American goals. Trump hastened to assure Qatar that such a situation will not arise in the future.

Even the Washington Post, which is ever loyal to Israel, assessed the strike on Qatar as being “a rare tactical mistake by Israel”.

For Qatar, this act of Israeli aggression was a profound betrayal, as the country’s authorities seriously assisted the Trump administration in concluding peace agreements not only in the Gaza Strip, but also in other conflicts. On September 10, 2025, CNN regarded the situation as a personal insult to Trump, since it put Netanyahu’s goals above the most important security priorities of the United States, even after the last two U.S. administrations rushed to protect Israel from two series of attacks from Iran.

The events of September 9 clearly showed the countries in the region that, by continuing to rely on the United States for security, they risk ending up like Doha. Therefore, Qatar’s neighbours should learn a lesson for themselves. The example of Doha shows that Washington has only one main ally in the region, and the rest – despite all the trillions in investments and planes, can be bombed. Perhaps this will force them to diversify their own security rather than relying on a single guarantor.

It is clear that the peaceful efforts to resolve the conflict in Gaza have been dealt a tremendous blow. The unpunished crimes of the Netanyahu government vis-à-vis the genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has led to the destruction of the enclave and the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent children and women, must come to an end. This can be done only through the collective efforts of the entire international community by adopting the necessary UN Security Council resolutions.

Muhamed Amer, Syrian journalist. Courtesy

https://journal-neo.su/2025/09/11/israel-bombs-qatar-a-pivotal-moment-for-the-middle-east/