In a week marked by escalating tensions and dramatic turns in Middle Eastern geopolitics, two seismic events have sent shockwaves through Washington, Jerusalem, and Doha, testing alliances and upending diplomatic calculations. The assassination of American right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk and an unprecedented Israeli airstrike in Qatar have thrust the US-Israel relationship—and the broader regional order—into the global spotlight.
On September 11, 2025, the news that Charlie Kirk had been shot and killed reverberated instantly through political circles. Kirk, 31, was not just a prominent conservative voice in the United States; he was also a staunch supporter of Israel, often using his platform to champion Judeo-Christian values and defend the US-Israel alliance. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved quickly to express his condolences, describing Kirk as a "lion-hearted friend of Israel, he fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization." Netanyahu revealed he had spoken to Kirk only two weeks prior, inviting him to visit Israel—a trip that, heartbreakingly, will never happen.
Other Israeli officials echoed Netanyahu’s sentiments. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called Kirk an “incredible friend” of Israel, asserting, “Charlie represented the Judeo-Christian values that unite Israel and America. Above all, he was a fearless warrior for truth and freedom. He was murdered for that.” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir went further, linking Kirk’s murder to a wider ideological struggle: “The collusion between the global Left and radical Islam is the greatest danger to humanity today. Charlie Kirk saw the danger and warned about it. But the bullets of the despicable murderer struck him.”
Kirk’s own rhetoric in the days before his death was characteristically provocative. In one of his final social media posts, he claimed, “Islam is the sword the left is using to slit the throat of America.” Such statements, while controversial, had endeared him to segments of the Israeli right and the broader MAGA movement in the US. Former Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz praised Kirk as a “voracious defender of Judeo-Christian values, America & the State of Israel.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called Kirk “a true friend of Israel,” emphasizing his willingness to engage in dialogue, even with opponents.
Yet Kirk’s relationship with Israel was not without nuance. While he denied reports of Israeli-imposed starvation in Gaza—echoing official Israeli denials and dismissing the United Nations-declared famine as “pure visual warfare”—he was not always aligned with pro-Israel hardliners. In June, as Israeli leaders lobbied then-President Donald Trump to strike Iran, Kirk warned, “I can tell you right now, our MAGA base does not want a war at all whatsoever. They do not want US involvement. They do not want the United States to be engaged in this.”
Kirk also supported Trump’s crackdown on Palestinian rights advocacy on US campuses, including efforts to deport Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, moves that civil liberties advocates criticized as infringements on free speech. Nevertheless, in May, Kirk pushed back against a proposed law to penalize boycotting Israel, arguing, “In America you are allowed to hold differing views. You are allowed to disagree and protest… the right to speak freely is the birthright of all Americans.” In July, he hosted a panel of young conservatives skeptical of the US-Israel alliance and voiced frustration over accusations of anti-Semitism for criticizing Israel: “I’m told by some people that if I criticise AIPAC, I’m anti-Semitic.”
As Kirk’s death dominated headlines, another crisis was unfolding in the Gulf. On September 8, 2025, the Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, met with Hamas chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya in Doha to discuss a US-backed ceasefire proposal that could end the nearly two-year Gaza war. The plan, championed by President Trump, had injected a sense of urgency into the talks, with Trump issuing a “last warning” to Hamas to accept the deal. The Qatari negotiators, acting as intermediaries between Hamas, Israel, and the US, relayed updates throughout the night.
But before Hamas could respond, Israeli fighter jets struck a residential building in Doha on September 9, in what became the first Israeli military operation on a Gulf Arab nation. The attack, months in the making, was designed to target senior Hamas leaders believed to be meeting in the Qatari capital. Despite the high stakes, the operation was approved over the objections of IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Mossad chief David Barnea, both of whom questioned its timing, especially as critical ceasefire talks were underway.
The logistics of the strike were daunting. More than ten Israeli jets—F-35I, F-15, and F-16s—launched the attack at 3:46 PM local time, successfully evading advanced Qatari and American radar systems. Israel deliberately delayed notifying the US until the last possible moment, fearing that advance warning would allow the Trump administration to tip off Qatar and, by extension, Hamas. By the time the US was informed, the strike had already hit its target. Qatar, which hosts the massive Al-Udeid Air Base—home to the largest US military presence in the region—was blindsided and outraged.
Prime Minister Al-Thani condemned the attack as “state terrorism,” telling CNN, “If we look at the pattern of Netanyahu’s actions since October 7, since the war started, it’s been in a very systematic way trying to undermine any chance of stability, any chance of peace, and any chance of retrieving his own hostages.” The strike, which damaged a compound hosting Hamas’ political leadership, killed five lower-level Hamas members and a Qatari security guard, but failed to eliminate the delegation’s chief target, Khalil Al-Hayya. Within hours, doubts about the operation’s effectiveness were growing in Israel.
For the United States, the episode was a diplomatic nightmare. President Trump, reportedly “very unhappy about every aspect” of the strike, found himself caught between a key Middle Eastern ally and a Gulf partner critical to US regional interests. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized the operation, stating, “Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard in bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals.”
Netanyahu and Trump spoke twice in the aftermath, with Israel moving quickly to claim sole responsibility and distance the US from the operation. Yet the diplomatic fallout was immediate: Qatar and its neighbors were incensed, the US was left scrambling, and the already fragile ceasefire talks in Gaza appeared to be in tatters. Israel, meanwhile, defended the strike as a step toward ending the war, though the conflict is now approaching its two-year anniversary with no resolution in sight.
In the span of just a few days, the deaths, strikes, and political maneuvering have underscored how quickly alliances can be tested and how the search for peace in the Middle East remains as complicated—and elusive—as ever.
