In a move that stunned the region and reverberated across the globe, Israel launched a high-profile missile strike on the Hamas headquarters in Doha, Qatar, on September 9, 2025. The attack, which took place in a bustling residential and commercial area of the Qatari capital, marked a dramatic escalation in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, drawing in regional powers and raising new questions about the future of Middle East stability.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the operation involved a fleet of 12 Israeli fighter jets—eight F-15s and four F-35s—that flew nearly 1,500 kilometers to the Red Sea. From there, they launched air-launched ballistic missiles over Saudi Arabia, a calculated maneuver designed to avoid direct violation of Saudi airspace. This complex flight path allowed the jets to strike Doha quickly, giving the United States little time to object or intervene.
US officials, cited by The Wall Street Journal, revealed that Israel notified the US military of the impending attack just minutes before the missiles were launched. Space-based US sensors detected the launch and confirmed Doha as the target, but the information reached the Trump administration too late to halt the operation. A senior US defense official described the strike as “absolutely unimaginable,” adding, “notice was given so close to the actual launching of missiles that there was no way to reverse or halt the order.”
The target of the attack was a meeting of Hamas leaders, convened to discuss a possible ceasefire deal for Gaza. The delegation, which included chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya and senior leader Zaher Jabarin, had just met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani to review the latest proposal. While both al-Hayya and Jabarin survived, five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer were killed in the strike. The attack was the sixth time in 2025 that Israeli missiles had struck a state capital, underscoring an unprecedented willingness to escalate the regional conflict.
Qatar, long a key mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas and host to the US Al Udeid airbase, reacted with fury. The Qatari government condemned the strike as “state terrorism,” calling it a “cowardly” assault and vowing to respond. In the wake of the attack, Qatar announced plans to host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha, with the aim of rallying regional support and addressing the Israeli airstrikes on its soil.
This incident has highlighted the increasingly complex web of alliances and hostilities in the Middle East. Israel’s willingness to strike in Qatar—a country closely allied with the United States and home to the largest US military base in the region—sent shockwaves through diplomatic circles. According to ISA International Political Committee, the Trump administration denied having been forewarned about the attack, but acknowledged receiving intelligence from its own military and passing it to the Qatari government just ten minutes before the missiles struck.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government took full responsibility for the attack and, in the aftermath, warned that Israel would pursue Hamas leaders in other countries as well. Netanyahu’s hardline approach, supported by the Trump administration, has signaled a willingness to take risks and expand military operations far beyond Israel’s borders. “Israel is able to do pretty much anything. They have the military means, the political will and the US political cover, so they are much more willing to take risks regardless of the ramifications,” Emile Hokayem of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London told Financial Times on September 11.
The regional implications of the Doha strike have been immediate and severe. Both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia condemned the Israeli attack, despite their close ties to the US and previous participation in normalization agreements with Israel. The incident has forced these governments to publicly distance themselves from Israel’s military actions, out of concern for domestic backlash and the potential for wider unrest.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to worsen. Following the breakdown of the latest ceasefire in March 2025, Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza, cutting off food, medicine, and essential supplies. The population of Gaza City, along with the entire enclave’s two million residents, was ordered to evacuate to a so-called ‘humanitarian zone’ covering just 11.5 percent of Gaza’s territory. UN agencies now report that 20,000 children have been killed during the war—an average of one child every hour. More than 200 journalists have also lost their lives, with the Israeli government admitting to deliberately targeting some, labeling them as terrorists.
Israel’s military campaign has not been limited to Gaza. Since June 2025, Israeli forces have expanded their operations into Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, establishing bases and conducting strikes on targets in major cities such as Damascus and Beirut. The day after the Doha attack, 35 people were killed in a new Israeli assault on Yemen. In the West Bank, Israel has announced plans to seize 82 percent of the territory, relegating the remaining 18 percent to the three million Palestinians living there and planning new settlements and infrastructure to consolidate control.
The international response to these developments has included both condemnation and grassroots activism. The Global Sumud Flotilla, comprising hundreds of activists including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, set sail from Barcelona and Tunis in September 2025 in an effort to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. European dockworkers in Italy and Spain have discussed blocking all transport if the flotilla is attacked—a real possibility, given that previous aid flotillas have been intercepted by Israeli forces. Israel’s far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has advocated treating the activists as terrorists, and a drone attack has already targeted a vessel carrying the same team as in June.
In the words of the ISA International Political Committee, the war in Gaza has become “a dominating factor in global politics and mass movements.” The anger against Israel’s actions—and against the US for its support—has sparked protests worldwide, with growing calls for governments to end their complicity and for a genuine general strike against war and occupation. Even within Israel, there is mounting opposition to the continued conflict, with many citizens and high-ranking military officers questioning the government’s strategy and the occupation of Gaza City.
As the region reels from the aftershocks of the Doha attack, the struggle for peace and justice in the Middle East shows no sign of abating. The events of September 2025 have only sharpened the stakes, forcing governments, activists, and ordinary people alike to confront the brutal realities of war, occupation, and the enduring quest for a just resolution.