On 9 September 2025, Israeli Armed Forces attacked Doha, the capital of Qatar, targeting Hamas leaders. The strike led to six victims, though the Hamas group maintains that its negotiating team survived. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the attack as “fully justified” and described it as a “surgical, precision strike.” Israel’s actions have been condemned by multiple nations, including Qatar, the U.K., France, Japan, Russia, and the U.N., with Qatar calling it a “blatant violation” of international law and sovereignty.

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed he was “not thrilled” and “very unhappy about every aspect” of the event, noting that unilaterally bombing Qatar, a close ally, “does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” although he affirmed that “eliminating Hamas is a worthy goal”. Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani called the strike a “serious threat” to those in Qatar, and stated that his country “reserves the right” to respond. From the Israeli perspective, Defence Minister Katz vowed that Israel’s “long arm will act against its enemies everywhere,” asserting “there is no place to hide” for those who commit terror against Israel. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett described the strike as “an act of self-defence” against “terrorist architects”.

This concerning act of violence by the Israeli Armed Forces appears to be counterproductive to reach the goal of achieving lasting peace and stability in the region. As highlighted by the Soufan Center, it risks “undermining the Abraham Accords and unravelling the fragile normalisation framework with Arab partners.” This casts a long shadow over the feasibility of future diplomatic resolutions in a region already affected by deep-rooted conflicts. As shown by the attack on Doha, violence and short-term military strategies can only bring further instability, deteriorating diplomatic channels, and worsen humanitarian crises. Instead, lasting peace and security require a stronger commitment by numerous countries to sustain diplomatic engagement, the release of hostages, and the sending of humanitarian aid. On 10 September 2025, Ursula von der Leyen proposed putting bilateral support for Israel on hold and sanctioning extremist ministers and violent settlers. Measures such as this one are the kind of international pressure necessary to support genuine peace-building rather than perpetuating conflict.

This recent action is part of a longer series of escalations. Before this event, Israel had initiated a war against Iran, occupied additional territories in Syria, killed leaders of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, and massacred more than 64,500 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of its military operation. Regarding negotiations, Israel initially accepted a proposal from the Trump Administration for a partial release of hostages and a temporary pause in fighting. Later, Israel rejected this plan, and the current agreement on the table requires Hamas to release all prisoners for only a temporary truce, a term that Israel insists strongly upon. Nonetheless, the air strike of 9 September 2025 has significantly impacted peace talks and ceasefire negotiations. Qatar’s Prime Minister stated that after the attack, “nothing valid” remained in the current ceasefire talks. Moreover, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel echoed this worry, expressing “deep concern and great fear” for the hostages and stating that “their time is running out”.

The Doha strike serves as a strong reminder that the use of military force and the undermining of mediation efforts and international norms will only push the region further from the lasting peace it desperately needs. The attack, in fact, not only has stalled crucial negotiations but also further eroded trust in mediation processes and violated international norms of sovereignty, making the path towards a lasting peace in the region significantly more challenging.