The Middle East edged closer to a wider conflagration on Tuesday after Israel launched a brazen airstrike on Doha. The attack, which killed six people, including a Qatari servicemember, but left Hamas’s top leadership unharmed, occurred as the group’s senior figures convened to discuss a U.S.-brokered ceasefire proposal for Gaza.

The fallout was immediate.

Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, denounced the violation of his country’s sovereignty in a call with President Donald Trump, vowing to take all necessary measures to safeguard Qatar’s security. Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, termed the attack as “treacherous,” and said American officials notified Doha only after the bombs had begun to fall. Mediation, he insisted, remains part of Qatar’s identity and would not be deterred.

President Trump, for his part, sought to distance Washington from the incident. He pointedly blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for ordering the strike, calling it a “unilateral” decision that undermined both American and Israeli interests. “Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” he wrote on social media, even as he maintained that dismantling Hamas remains a legitimate objective. The White House later revealed that Trump had instructed a senior aide to warn Qatar, but the warning came only after the attack had commenced.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, claimed full responsibility, framing the operation as payback for a deadly Hamas-claimed assault in occupied East Jerusalem the previous day, as well as the mass attack on Israel in October 2023. “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility,” he declared, underscoring the growing willingness of his government to act militarily beyond Israel’s borders.

The international response was swift and severe. Britain, France, Germany, and other EU nations condemned the airstrikes on Doha. French President Emmanuel Macron labelled the attack “unacceptable regardless of motive,” warning explicitly against the spread of the war across the region. The episode is likely to test Western partnerships with both Israel and Qatar, the latter a key mediator and U.S. ally.

The Doha strike comes at a delicate moment. Hamas’s leadership, though shaken, survived, while Qatar’s role as an intermediary in Gaza’s crisis has been thrust into question. Regional tensions have reached a new pitch, with the risk of escalation looming large. As diplomatic channels scramble to contain the fallout, the spectre of a broader regional uncertainty  looms ever larger over the Gulf.