Almost exactly a year ago I interviewed the Hamas leader and chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya in Doha. I met him in a house not far from the building that Israel attacked on Tuesday afternoon.
From the beginning of the war in Gaza, al-Hayya had been the chief Hamas negotiator, sending and receiving messages to the Israelis and Americans via Qatari and Egyptian intermediaries.
At moments where ceasefires were thought likely, al-Hayya, along with the men who were also targeted this afternoon, were only a short distance from the Israeli and American delegations. When they were attacked, al-Hayya and the other top Hamas leaders were discussing the latest American diplomatic proposals to end the war in Gaza and free the remaining Israeli hostages.
Israel's swift declaration of what it had done immediately fueled speculation on social media that the latest American proposals were simply a ruse to get the Hamas leadership in one place where they could be targeted.
In the last few decades Qatar has tried to carve itself a position as the Switzerland of the Middle East, a place where even enemies could make deals. The Americans negotiated with the Afghan Taliban in Doha. And in the almost two years since the attacks on 7th October 2023, Qatar has been the centre of the diplomatic efforts to negotiate ceasefires and perhaps even an end to the war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Israelis that their enemies will never be able to sleep easy and are paying the price for ordering the 7th October attacks.
With Gaza already gripped by starvation, famine in Gaza City itself and a humanitarian catastrophe across the territory the forced movement of many more people will only increase Israel's lethal pressure on civilians.
Israel has already killed more than 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of whom were civilians. Netanyahu himself faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
The attack in Doha is a sign that Netanyahu and his government will press forward as hard as they can on all fronts, not just Gaza. They are confident that with American support, their military can enforce their will.
The humanitarian crisis is deepening, while the diplomatic avenues appear to have closed off following this attack.
