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On Sept. 9, 2025, Israeli jets launched a daring “over the horizon” strike that struck a residential compound in Doha, killing several people including a Qatari security officer and wounding others as Hamas political leaders were meeting on Qatari soil. The operation used air-launched ballistic missiles fired from the Red Sea, a method designed to avoid regional air defenses and minimize diplomatic fallout while achieving a high-value target. This was a dramatic escalation that laid bare how the Gaza war has spilled far beyond its borders.
Let’s be crystal clear: Hamas is a murderous terrorist organization that has brought unspeakable suffering to Israelis and Palestinians alike, and any nation that shelters its leadership is complicit in that violence. Israel’s objective—disrupting terrorist command and control—was aimed at preventing further attacks and protecting innocent lives, a responsibility any sovereign nation must take seriously. At the same time, the strike inside a U.S. partner’s territory raises real questions about coordination and the risks of escalation in an already combustible region.
Qatar’s leadership predictably howled in response, calling the strike a violation of sovereignty and promising legal and diplomatic measures while announcing it would lean on its partnerships, including ties to the Trump administration, to hold Israel to account. Senior Qatari advisers publicly vowed to pursue every avenue—from legal teams to international forums—to punish what they labeled a treacherous attack, even as they insist they remain mediators. Doha’s posture is classic diplomatic theater: demand sympathy and leverage while continuing to host the very extremists most Westerners rightly oppose.
Americans should also note the inconvenient truth: Qatar has for years sheltered Hamas political operatives while cultivating cozy relationships with Washington, positioning itself as an indispensable mediator. That contradiction cannot be ignored—countries that play both sides cannot expect to escape scrutiny when the violence they tolerate crosses a line. If Qatar truly wants to broker peace, it must choose a side: either expel and isolate terrorists or stop sanctimoniously lecturing others about rules of warfare.
President Trump said he was “not at all happy” about the strike and that the U.S. was not informed in time to stop it, a rebuke that underlines the chaotic diplomatic fallout and the administration’s tough-but-principled stance toward protecting allies. Washington’s frustration is understandable, but so is Jerusalem’s insistence that it will not tolerate safe havens for terrorists who murder civilians. The American people deserve a clear strategy that defends allies, punishes terror, and prevents reckless provocations that could spiral into a wider war.
Yet the region’s response has been mixed, and even as Doha loudly complains, the U.S. is reportedly nearing an enhanced defense cooperation agreement with Qatar—an arrangement that should come with ironclad conditions. If America is going to deepen security ties, those ties must be conditioned on tangible steps: end safe harbor for terrorists, full cooperation with counterterrorism, and transparency about military facilities and intelligence. We should not subsidize a nation’s double game with American security guarantees while it harbors enemies of peace.
This moment is a test of American resolve and common sense. We must stand with Israel’s right to defend itself while demanding that partners like Qatar either renounce and expel terrorist networks or face real consequences for enabling them. Hardworking Americans want peace and security, not moralizing from states that profit from instability; Washington should make that message loud and clear.
