How significant is Israel's attack on Qatar and should we be concerned?
Tensions in the Middle East have hit boiling point after Israel launched deadly precision strikes on Qatar – but what impact could the escalation have on both the West and the wider region?
Listen to this article
The strike is the first known Israeli attack on Qatar, which hosts one of America’s largest bases in the region.
Claiming responsibility, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack a "surgical precision strike," targeting who he described as those who 'initiated, organised and celebrated' the October 7 attacks on Israel.
It's understood the son of a Hamas leader was killed in the strikes, one of six deaths reported by the group. However, no senior figures of the terror group.
It has promoted immediate outrage from leaders across the Middle East – with Qatar blasting the attacks as a “flagrant violation of international law”.
What does this mean for peace efforts in Gaza?
Doha has acted as a mediator between Israel and Palestinian factions in recent years, attempting to position itself as a centre of diplomacy in the Middle East – with the attack throwing the prospect of regional peace into doubt.
Experts say the fact Hamas’ negotiating team was targeted in the strikes suggests Israel may have given up on efforts to reach a peace deal in Gaza.
“I think it is a pretty good rule of thumb in diplomacy that if you attack the other side’s negotiating team you are not interested in dealing with solutions,” Former Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee Lord Peter Ricketts told LBC.
“I think it is now, it has been clear for some time I think that Netanyahu does not want to negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas,” he said on Tonight with Andrew Marr.
Nomi Bar Yaacov, a peace negotiator and expert in Middle Eastern geopolitics, told LBC News the strikes are "extremely detrimental" to efforts to secure a pause in fighting.
What does this mean for Donald Trump and the West?
The White House says US President Donald Trump was notified about the precision strikes on Doha ahead of time, despite Qatar hosting one of America’s largest bases in the region.
Attempting to distance themselves from the strikes, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Qatar these attacks won’t happen again, describing the attack an “unfortunate incident”.
LBC’s Washington Correspondent Simon Marks says it is already causing “serious difficulty for the Trump administration in terms of its relationship with the Qataris, a relationship that Donald rump has until now really very carefully guarded ever since the signing of the Abraham Accords during his first term in government.”
He added: “The Qataris and a host of other governments across the middle east region are absolutely outraged by this Israeli strike on Doha and I think it’s going to leave with some serious long lasting repercussions as well as immediate questions to answer.”
Lord Peter Ricketts agrees that “It creates all sorts of issues for the Americans.”
Should we be concerned?
Sir Keir Starmer has warned Israel’s actions “risk further escalation across the region” as he condemned the attacks.
Experts have warned the situation could tigger further escalation and spill over into the wider region.
It would not be the first time the Israel/Hamas conflict impacted other parts of the Middle East, with Israel previously striking its adversary Iran in an attempt to destroy its nuclear sites.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the strikes on Qatar should serve as a “serious warning for the region and the international community," as it labelled the attack a “blatant violation of international law” and an “infringement upon the national sovereignty of Qatar and the Palestinian negotiators”.
It comes amid fears that Iran is nearing the ability to develop a nuclear weapon, and the attack could reignite tensions with Israel as well as the US after it appeared to give the go-ahead.