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Global Condemnation for Israeli Attack on Hamas Negotiators as Qatar Suspends Ceasefire Mediation
One policy expert called the bombing "an attack on diplomacy itself" that could do long-term harm to US credibility.
Sep 09, 2025
Following Israel's assassination attempt against members of Hamas' negotiating team in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday, Qatari officials announced the country's mediation efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire deal to end Israel's bombardment of Gaza would be suspended—suggesting the Israeli military is now entering "full ethnic cleansing mode," according to one academic.
The total breakdown of the ceasefire talks comes after Israel's bombing in Doha, which Israeli officials claimed responsibility for on Tuesday and said was aimed at assassinating the negotiators—but ultimately killed six people who were not involved with Hamas' team.
The Trump administration said Tuesday it had been aware of the attack before it was carried out and claimed it had warned Qatari officials—which Qatar denied.
Analysts suggested the lead-up to the bombing—with the US securing Hamas and Israeli support for a vague ceasefire proposal that was to be discussed in Doha—pointed to a scenario in which the US helped orchestrate the attack and aided "an attack on diplomacy itself," as Center for International Policy executive vice president Matt Duss said.
Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), warned the assassination attempt could cause long-lasting harm to the United States' reputation.
"This is an attack in the capital of a major non-NATO US ally in the midst of US-supported negotiations—against officials who were originally hosted there at the United States' request," said Duss. "If it was conducted with the approval of the US, it's the latest nail in the coffin of [President Donald] Trump's claim to be a 'peacemaker.' This will have disastrous consequences for future peace efforts, and for US security."
"This collaboration is evidenced by the blatant plan to lure ceasefire negotiators into a single location under the pretense of peace talks, only to attempt to assassinate them."
The Trump administration's response to the attack was ambiguous, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the bombing did not "advance Israel or America's goals" but adding that "eliminating Hamas... is a worthy goal."
The attack, said Duss, makes clear that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to see Israel's accelerating campaign of ethnic cleansing in Gaza through to the end," and has no intention of reaching a ceasefire deal.
Gregg Carlstrom of The Economist said that as far as countries in the Gulf region are concerned, the question of whether Trump knew about the attack ahead of time "is somewhat irrelevant."
"If yes, he approved a strike on a country under an American security guarantee," said Carlstrom. "If no, he couldn't prevent said strike. Either way, the question for Gulf leaders is the same: What is the value of American security guarantees?"
Condemnation of the attacks poured in from global leaders including United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, who said Israel's actions were "a clear violation of [Qatar's] sovereignty and territorial integrity" and accused Israeli officials of "destroying" efforts for a permanent ceasefire.
Other countries including Algeria, Jordan, and Egypt also decried the attack on Qatar's "sovereignty" and accused Israel of undermining the talks.
The peace group CodePink asserted that "the US is fully aware of Israel's intentions and actively collaborates with it" to reach the "true objective" of "the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians."
"This collaboration is evidenced by the blatant plan to lure ceasefire negotiators into a single location under the pretense of peace talks, only to attempt to assassinate them," said CodePink. "This is a complete rejection of a diplomatic solution—something Israel has no intention of reaching. This attack on foreign soil also serves as a direct challenge to Qatar, proving that neither its borders, laws, nor financial influence can deter Israeli strikes."
The assassination attempt proves, said the group, that "peace negotiations are essentially antithetical to Israel and a trap for more assassinations and attacks on sovereign nations."
"It is time world leaders take a principled stand in defense of the people of Gaza," said the group. "The more the international community fails to hold Israel accountable, the more brazen it becomes in their war crimes."
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'What Other Country Gets Away With All of This?': Israel Bombs Hamas Ceasefire Negotiating Team in Doha
"The whole point was to gather people together to discuss the peace offer to kill them," said one journalist.
Sep 09, 2025
This is a developing story... Please check back for possible updates.
The government of Qatar slammed Israel for a "cowardly" attack in violation of international law on Tuesday, an assassination attempt which targeted members of Hamas' negotiating team in the capital city of Doha who had gathered to discuss a new Gaza ceasefire proposal put forth by US President Donald Trump.
Al Jazeera reported on "multiple explosions... in Qatar's capital, Doha, this afternoon, followed by plumes of smoke that rose above an area where some embassies are located."
Reporting from Jordan for the outlet, Hamdah Salhut wrote that the airstrikes against the negotiators were "surely unprecedented."
"[Qatar] is a country that is hosting mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire, that has been working tirelessly to get to some sort of an agreement to end the war," said Salhut. "This is clearly going to be seen as an escalation because the Israeli army is operating in a way that they haven't before, saying they are taking new measures, especially in light of the plans to seize Gaza City."
As they attacked the negotiating team, the Israel Defense Forces also demanded the evacuation of 1.3 million Palestinians from Gaza City and areas north of it, as they intensify attacks there.
The assassination attempt came hours after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel had accepted the US proposal, many of the details of which have not been disclosed. According to Al Jazeera, the proposal was similar to one previously proposed by the US which would require the release of half of the living Israeli captives who were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, after which a 60-day ceasefire would begin with negotiations for a permanent end to the war.
That deal was agreed to by both parties before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed out.
A spokesperson for Qatar's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the attack on the negotiating team was a "criminal attack" that constitutes "a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms and [is] a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents of Qatar."
"While the state of Qatar strongly condemns this assault, it confirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and the ongoing disruption of regional security, nor any act that targets its security and sovereignty," said the ministry. "Investigations are underway at the highest level, and further details will be announced as soon as they are available."
Mohammed El-Kurd, a Palestinian writer at The Nation, noted that the attack came hours after the bombing of the Global Sumud Flotilla that was bound for Gaza with humanitarian aid and anchored in Tunis.
"These are brazen acts of war. What other country gets away with all of this?" said El-Kurd, adding that the assassination attempt "was reportedly coordinated with the US."
Ryan Grim, co-founder of Drop Site News, also said the US appeared to have helped orchestrate the attack.
"Here's what just happened: Trump sent a peace deal to Hamas, Hamas met to discuss it in Doha, where the US is mediating talks and has a base, and Israel bombed them, presumably with US support," wrote Grim. "The strike in Doha was aimed at Hamas negotiators who were gathered to discuss Trump's ceasefire offer, according to a Hamas official speaking on Al Jazeera, much as Trump carried out fake nuclear talks with Iran in order to kill Iranian negotiators. That might explain why Trump's offer was so short and scant on details. The whole point was to gather people together to discuss the peace offer to kill them."
Michael Scaglione of the podcast "Two Doomed Men" said that if Grim's suggested version of events is confirmed, US President Donald Trump "has now okayed more than one 'Red Wedding'-style deception/manipulation under the pretext of negotiating."
"The more of this that occurs," he said, "the harder it becomes to enter good faith negotiations with anyone."
Matt Duss, executive vice president of the Center for International Policy, called Tuesday's attack "absolutely insane."
US military sources in the region told Al Jazeera that they had not been aware of the attack before it occurred, but said they could not "speak to whether or not the White House was informed."
"So the genocidal Israeli military just struck another sovereign nation, this time Qatar, an American ally that has been working alongside Washington to media ceasefire negotiations, where it targeted Hamas' political leaders who were reportedly gathering to discuss US proposal," said Yousef Munayyer, a Palestinian-American political analyst.
Tuesday's attack in Doha, he added, "should put an end to any idea that Israel is interested in a deal in Gaza, if anyone was still entertaining that. Its sole focus is genocide in Gaza."
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Palestinians Recount Night 'Like Hell' After Israel Pounds Gaza City
"It was a scorching night of fire from every side, from the explosions, to the dropping of incendiary bombs over our heads, to the aerial and artillery bombardment," said one local journalist. "We can't believe how we survived!"
Sep 03, 2025
Residents of Gaza City on Wednesday described an infernal night of relentless Israeli aerial and artillery attacks preceding the official launch of what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the "decisive stage" of the 698-day assault and siege on the embattled strip.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warplanes, drones, and artillery unleashed a ferocious wave of attacks on Gaza's largest city Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, killing dozens of Palestinians and obliterating neighborhoods including Sheikh Radwan, where residents described their utter terror as drones dropped incendiary bombs and panicked families attempted to flee.
Gaza officials said later on Wednesday that at least 113 Palestinians were killed in the strip over the past 24 hours.
"Gaza is being erased," Hadi, a 27-year-old from Sheikh Radwan, told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. "Artillery everywhere, airstrikes everywhere, helicopters everywhere. Even quadcopters are firing at people in the streets, like they are being hunted down. No one knows where to go. We are fleeing to the unknown."
Journalist Mohammed Haniya posted on social media: "The bloody, explosive, Earth-shaking night of Gaza! How did we survive this morning? I can't believe it."
"It was a scorching night of fire from every side, from the explosions, to the dropping of incendiary bombs over our heads, to the aerial and artillery bombardment," he added. "We can't believe how we survived!"
Madleen Abu Saif, a 29-year-old Gaza City resident, told the Emirati newspaper The National that "it was very difficult; the shelling came with all kinds of weapons from quadcopters, tanks, warplanes—from everywhere. It was like hell."
"We tried to stay away from the windows and the street, and we stayed close to the house door so that we could evacuate immediately if necessary," she added.
The Israeli occupation launched intense bombardment on Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, accompanied by a heavy deployment of illumination flares across the area pic.twitter.com/5F5AL9B8o5
— TRT World (@trtworld) September 3, 2025
Around 60,000-80,000 of the approximately 1 million Palestinians in Gaza City are believed to have fled over the past 72 hours. IDF officials—who are proven frequent liars—claimed Wednesday that Hamas, whose political arm rules Gaza and whose militant wing led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, is blocking civilians from leaving.
Hadi told Haaretz that "the war machines are closing in, but there's no official declaration of any invasion. Still, the feeling is that the occupation of Gaza has already begun."
That declaration came Wednesday morning, as IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir conducted a field visit to Gaza and said that Operation Gideon's Chariots 2—the campaign to conquer, occupy, and ethnically cleanse the strip—had officially begun.
"We will continue operating against Hamas' main strongholds until its defeat; we are instilling in them a sense of being constantly pursued everywhere," Zamir vowed.
The Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, responded by announcing a series of operations it called "Moses' Staff." Qassam Brigades said its fighters blasted an IDF bulldozer with a rocket near Salah al-Din Mosque in al-Zaytoun and fired mortar shells at Israeli troops gathered at Haj Fadel.
Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity—and IDF commanders told reservists Wednesday that the assault on Gaza was entering its "decisive stage."
More than 365 of the 60,000 IDF reservists being mobilized to invade Gaza said Tuesday that they would not report for duty.
A group of Israeli reservist soldiers declared they will not report for duty because of plans to take over Gaza City.
The group of over 365 reservists say the assault puts the lives of Israeli hostages at risk while also 'killing, maiming and starving' Gazan civilians.
Israel… pic.twitter.com/edbyl1sUMH
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) September 2, 2025
"We refuse to take part in Netanyahu's illegal war, and we see it as a patriotic duty to refuse and to demand accountability from our leaders," IDF reservist Max Kresch explained at a press conference.
"Netanyahu's ongoing war of aggression needlessly puts our own hostages in danger, and has wreaked havoc on the fabric of Israeli society, while at the same time killing, maiming, and starving an entire population of Gazan civilians," Kresch added.
Israel's nearly 23-month assault and siege on Gaza—which is the subject of an ongoing International Court of Justice genocide case—has left more than 235,000 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing and hundreds of thousands of others starving in what is now officially an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification-designated famine that has killed at least hundreds of people.
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