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“Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Qatar on Tuesday, escalating its military action in the Middle East… Qatar is a security partner of the United States and host to al-Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East. It has acted as a mediator alongside Egypt in talks between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza…
“The airstrike took place shortly after Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for a shooting on Monday that killed six people at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem. [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu said the attack was ‘entirely justified’ and was ordered after the Jerusalem attack and the deaths of four Israeli soldiers in Gaza…
“The Trump administration received warning of the attack from the U.S. military just before it took place, Trump said in a statement on social media. He did not say if it was Israel that notified the U.S. military. ‘Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America's goals,’ Trump wrote. ‘However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.’” Reuters
The left opposes the strike, arguing that it will hinder peace negotiations.
“Prior to the October 7 attacks, Israel supported Qatar’s decision to send millions of dollars every year to the Hamas-led government in Gaza… Qatar’s foreign policy has long been a delicate balancing act: It hosts Hamas as well as the largest US military facility in the Middle East… It’s a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council… but also maintains friendly relations with its archrival, Iran…
“Qatar may fancy itself a sort of Switzerland of the Middle East — it has also played host to negotiations over the wars in Afghanistan and Ukraine — but in doing so, it has seemingly made itself a target. Israel’s strike comes less than three months after Iran launched missiles at US forces in Qatar… [Israel] may soon find it has no one willing to negotiate and nowhere to hold the negotiations.”
Joshua Keating, Vox
“For Qatar, the attack is a bitter outcome after aggressive attempts to help the Trump administration broker peace deals, not just in Gaza but also in the conflicts between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Qataris have also helped free American hostages in Venezuela and Russia…
“For Netanyahu and Trump, the question is: What’s next? Both demand a Hamas surrender. But how will they negotiate it with the Qatari channel shattered and a parallel Egyptian path probably also obstructed? By undermining diplomatic options for ending the conflict, Israel has narrowed its path forward. Its only choice now might be military reoccupation of most of Gaza — something that Israeli officials say they badly want to avoid.”
David Ignatius, Washington Post
“Israel is widening the war at huge political [risk]. Most remarkable of all, these risks include further alienating President Donald Trump… It seems unlikely that Netanyahu would order such a dramatic strike without Trump’s consent. Then again, it’s unclear why Trump’s press secretary would condemn the attack in such sharp terms… if it were insincere…
“This is a high-stakes gamble, even from the vantage of Israel’s interests. First, continued escalation of the war will endanger—almost certainly doom—the remaining Israeli hostages, whose lives still mean a great deal to most Israelis, including the majority that favors the destruction of Hamas. Second, this incessant violence and reliable reports of famine in Gaza have repelled much of the world, including many of Israel’s traditional allies.”
Fred Kaplan, Slate
The right generally supports the strike, arguing that Hamas must be destroyed.
The right generally supports the strike, arguing that Hamas must be destroyed.
“It’s a shame it took this long. Imagine, if you can, Mexico hosting Al Qaeda leaders in five-star Cancun hotels and giving them space for a headquarters in the year 2002. Now, if your contention is that Hamas is the legitimate governing entity of the Palestinian people, imagine Mexico hosting Imperial generals as Americans fought the Japanese in Okinawa…
“The United States didn’t conduct ceasefire talks with Ayman al-Zawahiri. The only reason Israel spent years in negotiations with Hamas was to attain the release of hostages. And the Jewish State was willing to make unconscionable demands to save them. It may never happen. But it was certainly never going to happen while the billionaires of Hamas conducted their operations in the safety of Qatar. Those days are over.”
David Harsanyi, Washington Examiner
“There would be no ‘end’ to the war against Hamas with a cease-fire — only a brief interlude before the next war. Hamas cannot justify its own existence in the absence of its raison d’être, waging existential conflict against the Jewish people with only the near-term goal of putting an end to the ‘Zionist project.’…
“That’s its purpose. That’s how it recruits fighters, raises funds, and subjugates the civilians under its boot. Wars end not through negotiated cease-fires but definitive victories. A lot of Westerners cannot conceive of conclusive victory in war anymore. Fortunately, Israel still can.”
Noah Rothman, National Review
Some argue, “‘We are ready to accept a deal (with Hamas) that would end this war, based on the cabinet decision,’ Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar said [Tuesday] morning. Yet whatever diplomatic momentum existed evaporated into thin air hours later… Netanyahu not only made a mockery of the diplomatic process but ordered what could arguably be called a hostile act against a country in the Middle East whose diplomatic services are in high demand…
“The Americans, though, deserve a portion of the blame as well. Trump vacillates between wanting peace in Gaza and then enabling Israel’s military strategy, with the end result being incoherence. At times, Trump rightly wags his finger at Netanyahu and contradicts the Israeli premier in public, particularly on the subject of what is happening in Gaza. But the next day, he basically writes off Gaza as Israel’s problem and suggests that whatever the Israelis decide to do, he will unabashedly support it.”
Daniel DePetris, Spectator World
This Is the World’s Biggest Animal Migration—and Few Outsiders Have Seen It.
Wall Street Journal
