Israel has literally blown up the Gaza ceasefire negotiations while opening another front in its war

Israel has literally blown up the Gaza ceasefire negotiations while opening another front in its war

By Middle East correspondent Eric Tlozek

Wednesday 10 September

Qatar, which has been critical to the negotiations, has suspended its role as a mediator in response to the attack. (UGC via AP)


Israel has literally blown up the Gaza ceasefire negotiations while opening another front in its war.

Just this week, Israel bombed three countries and is suspected of attacking an activist boat in a fourth.

It targeted the Hamas leadership team reportedly gathered in Doha, the capital of Qatar, specifically to discuss the latest demand from US President Donald Trump for a Gaza ceasefire.

If true, this mirrors what happened in June, when Israel attacked Iran while the latter was preparing to meet the US for nuclear control negotiations.


Live updates: Six killed in Israeli attack on Hamas figures in Doha


At the time, the US president's demand that Israel not attack Iran was portrayed in Israel as a clever piece of coordinated misdirection that gave Israel's air force the element of surprise.

Now, it looks as though the US has been complicit again, this time bizarrely abetting one ally attacking another.

The swiftly made Israeli statement saying there was no US role in the strike and that this was a "wholly independent" action brings to mind the old adage: "Never believe anything until it is officially denied."

Meanwhile, Israeli officials were telling local media outlets that Trump approved the attack.

The White House said it was notified by the US military, not by Israel, and refused to answer the question of whether the Israelis told their partner they were about to strike its ally.

At best, it makes the most powerful country look like a minor player in its key alliance, unable to protect its other friends.

It will also make any country or group question the point of negotiating with Israel or the US in the future.

Israeli officials have told local media outlets that Donald Trump approved the attack. (Reuters: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)


The US has a security cooperation agreement with Qatar, the value of which must now be in doubt — not just for Doha, but for all Gulf states which host US forces.

If hosting US troops, even lavishly welcoming the US president, does not provide a degree of protection, what does?

Adding more absurdity, the reason there is a Hamas office in Doha is because the US specifically requested it — former president Barack Obama was looking for an easier channel to negotiate with the group than dealing with Iran.

Israel targets Hamas 'senior leadership' in Qatar


Photo shows Smoke rises above a building.


Israel has claimed full responsibility for an air strike targeting Hamas senior leadership in Qatar, who were reportedly meeting to discuss the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal at the time.

Subsequent administrations have kept this arrangement, also using Qatar as a base to negotiate with the Taliban, seeing value in Qatar as a safe place to have difficult conversations.

It's impossible to see how this advances the case for countries like Saudi Arabia to normalise relations with Israel, or for those that have, like the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, to maintain ties.

Israel's government has justified this strike by saying the Hamas political leadership orchestrated the October 7 attacks, despite its own security agencies previously saying key figures in the political wing overseas were unaware of the details.

Israel has attacked the parties to a negotiation in the midst of their deliberations, indicating it has no interest in stopping the war in Gaza.

Whether or not Hamas intended to agree to this latest proposal — and there are strong indications it would not — is beside the point.

These were the people who could approve a ceasefire and had already agreed to multiple proposals before.

"This largely confirms the suspicions that Benyamin Netanyahu does not want a ceasefire agreement with Hamas and prefers the ethnic cleansing of Gaza City, despite the warnings from the higher echelons in the Israeli military and intelligence," Erik Skare, a professor at Oslo University who studies Hamas, told the ABC.

"It is very difficult to see Hamas continue any negotiations with a ceasefire."

Also, Qatar, which has been critical to the negotiations, has suspended its role as a mediator in response to the attack.

Beyond the ceasefire, Dr Skare said Israel's actions had also made it more difficult to reach a negotiated settlement for Gaza's future with Hamas.

"By targeting the negotiating team of Hamas and the diplomats of the movement, Israel has targeted those in Hamas we traditionally deem moderates — those who are predisposed to electoral politics, negotiations, and even playing with the idea of becoming a non-violent, legalised party. We are now most likely left with the hardliners in Gaza," he said.

Israel's attack is also another blow to the relatives of hostages who were hoping that, against the odds, a deal could still be struck to return their loved ones from captivity.

Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, summarised the feelings of many hostage supporters in Israel about Netanyahu's decision.

"Why does he insist on blowing up any chance of a deal? It's my child's life. My Matan's life is hanging in the balance! Over and over and over again the prime minister sabotages the (ceasefire) deal," she said.

This has happened before.

In July last year, after Hamas agreed to former US president Joe Biden's ceasefire framework, Israel assassinated the leader of its political wing, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran.

At the time, Qatar asked how the parties could reach an agreement if Israel was willing to kill the envoys, a question that is even more relevant now.

"How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on [the] other side?" Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on X.

Ultimately, those celebrating this latest assassination would do well to remember the doubts expressed by Israel's Mossad heavyweights who spent decades pursuing and targeting adversaries abroad.

In the years after, as peace became impossible, they wished Israel's leaders had been focused on compromise and conciliation instead of killing.

"Because of the phenomenal successes of Israel's covert operations, at this stage in its history the majority of its leaders have elevated and sanctified the tactical method of combating terror and existential threats at the expense of the true vision, statesmanship, and genuine desire to reach a political solution that is necessary for peace to be attained," author and investigative journalist Ronen Bergman concluded at the end of his detailed history of Israel's assassinations policy, Rise and Kill First.

"Indeed, in many respects, the story of Israel's intelligence community … has been one of a long string of impressive tactical successes, but also disastrous strategic failures."

Israel's former generals and master spies have all seen the limits of force, and for at least the last decade have been begging for a political solution instead.

Israel's new leaders keep ignoring them.