Diplomacy in the rubble after Israel hit Hamas leaders in Qatar

Almost a year ago, I met the leader of Hamas and the chief negotiator, Khalil Al -Hayia, in Doha. I met him in a house not far from the building that Israel attacked on Tuesday afternoon.

Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, the Hayia has been the chief negotiator in Hamas, as he sent and received messages to the Israelis and Americans across Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

In the moments when the ceasefire was likely to be believed, the Hayia, along with the men who were also targeting this afternoon, were a short distance from Israeli and American delegations. When they were attacked, the Hailah and the leaders of the great enthusiasm were discussing the latest American diplomatic proposals to end the war in Gaza and liberate the remaining Israeli hostages.

Israel’s rapid declaration of what it did immediately have fueled speculation on social media that the latest American proposals were just a trick to obtain the Hamas leadership in one place that could be targeted.

On October 3 last year, when Khalil Al -Hayya entered our meeting in a modest low -height villa, I was surprised that he had little security. We had to give up our phones, and two personal guards came with him to the house.

Outside simple clothes, the Qatari police sat smoking in the SUV. This was. One hundred personal guards could not stop an air strike, but the Hayia and its people were comfortable and confident.

The point was that Qatar was supposed to be safe, and they felt safe enough to move relatively publicly.

A few months ago, on July 31, 2024, Israel was assassinated by Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, in Tehran, where he was attending the opening of President Masoud Bezishian.

With the war in Gaza raging, I had wondered whether it was dangerous to sit in the same room as Khalil Al -Hayia. But like him, I thought Qatar was outside the border.

In the past few decades, Qatar has tried to celebrate its location as Switzerland in the Middle East, a place that enemies can even hold.

The Americans negotiated with the Afghan Taliban in Doha. And nearly two years since the attacks on October 7, 2023, Qatar was the center of diplomatic efforts to negotiate the ceasefire and perhaps until the end of the war.

The peace efforts, led by President Trump Steve Witkev, were severely stumbled. But they are now in ruin. In the words of one Western diplomat, “there is no diplomacy.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israelis that their enemies would not be able to sleep easily and pay the price of requesting the seventh of October attacks.

The Israeli attack in Gaza is gathering. A few hours before the attack on Doha, the Israeli army, the Israeli Defense Army, said to all Palestinians in Gaza City to leave and move in the south. It is believed that something like a million civilians can be affected.

In his televised comments, Netanyahu told the Palestinians in Gaza, “Do not come out of these killers. Defend your rights and your future. Make peace with us.

If the Palestinians in Gaza are able to hear his words, they will be very hollow. Israel destroyed homes of hundreds of thousands of them, as well as hospitals, universities and schools.

With Gaza already grabbed hunger, famine in Gaza City itself and a humanitarian catastrophe throughout the lands, the forced movement of many people will only increase the deadly pressure on Israel on civilians.

Israel has already killed more than 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and most of them were civilians. Netanyahu faces a detention note from the International Criminal Court of War Crime, and Israel is being investigated by the International Court of Justice for genocide.

The attack in Doha is a sign that Netanyahu and his government will press forward with the best on all fronts, and not only Gaza. They are confident that with American support, their army can impose their will.

The Doha attack got a rare reprimand from the White House. Qatar is a valuable ally, hosting a huge American military base and a major investor in the United States.

But it seems that Netanyahu calculates that Donald Trump, the only leader who feels he must listen to, will satisfy himself with the diplomatic equivalent of Rap on the joints.

Israel’s attack in Gaza continues. Since the planned recognition of Palestinian independence at the United Nations later this month by the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia and other Western countries, the National Cabinet allies in Netanyahu will double calls to respond with the inclusion of the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank.