Israel’s Attack On Qatar Could Be A Watershed For The Israel-Gaza Conflict – Analysis

James M. Dorsey

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Israel’s risky strike against Qatar was neither an unmitigated success in Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s terms nor a complete failure, even if it’s too early for a definitive cost-benefit analysis of what could prove to be a watershed.

Hamas was quick to declare that its top leaders had survived the attack on a villa in a lofty Doha neighborhood. Six people were reported killed in the attack. The Hamas statement left open whether any of the leaders were wounded in the attack.

None of the leaders has been seen in public since the attack except for Political Bureau member Suhail al-Hindi, who appeared in an Al-Jazeera interview. Mr. Al-Hindi said the Hamas leadership was “safe and secure,” but added that their “blood was no different from that of any Palestinian man, woman, or child.” It was unclear whether Mr. Al-Hindi attended the Hamas meeting called to discuss the latest Israel-endorsed US proposal for an end to the Gaza war.

What is certain is that the attack, at least for now, has disrupted efforts to achieve a Gaza ceasefire and likely persuaded Qatar to pause its mediation effort, allowing Israel to move forward with its planned occupation of Gaza City.

Mr. Al-Hindi said the Hamas leadership was discussing the latest ceasefire proposal with a “positive outlook” when Israel attacked. He left unsaid what that positive outlook entailed. Even so, the gap between the positions of the United States, Israel and Hamas remained wide.

Ceasefire proposals and sticking points

In the last six weeks, Hamas has largely agreed to proposals put forward by the mediators, Qatar, Egypt and the United States. The latest proposal called for a 60-day ceasefire, the release of the remaining 48 hostages immediately after the ceasefire takes effect, the disarmament of Hamas, whose Gaza-based leaders would go into exile and the installation of a post-war administration of the Strip. The proposal further called for the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, but did not address the quantity of aid, who would distribute it or what types of goods would be allowed in.