Israeli strikes shake quiet Qatar, strain US ties

Shock rippled across the tiny, gas-rich emirate as the strikes hit the Palestinian militant group's compound in an upscale neighbourhood of Doha on Tuesday, killing six.

The attack, just three months after Iran attacked a US airbase in Qatar, again punctured the aura of calm that pervades the Gulf, which prides and promotes itself as an oasis of peace in the troubled Middle East.

It also cast serious doubt on Qatar-mediated Gaza ceasefire talks and undermined security reassurances to the Gulf from key ally Washington.

In a show of neighbourly solidarity, United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan flew to Qatar on Wednesday, and Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will arrive on Thursday.

"(Qatar) has long been under a US security umbrella," said Asli Aydintasbas, a fellow at the Brookings Institution in a post on X. 

"Now the Gulf will question the credibility of US security guarantees."

- 'Surprised we were struck twice' -

Any hint of instability could jeopardise Gulf economies that largely rely on foreign workers and are striving to draw tourism and investment to diversify their fossil fuel-reliant economies. 

"The entire region will now fear that Israel could act against its adversaries regardless of borders or national sovereignty," said Prem Kumar, who oversaw US policy in the Middle East under the Obama administration.

Assem, 29, whose family found refuge in Qatar from the Palestinian territories decades ago, voiced surprise at the recent turbulence.

"For 29 years I've lived here safely... So I am very surprised that in a short period of time we were struck twice in a very protected and very safe country," he said.

Hamas says senior officials were not killed in Tuesday's attack, which came as they met to discuss a new Gaza ceasefire proposal from Washington.

An aide and the son of Khalil al-Hayya, the top Hamas negotiator, and three bodyguards died, along with a Qatari security officer, the group said.

Doha has hosted several rounds of indirect Israel-Hamas talks in Doha and helped broker two short-lived truces, with the US and Egypt as fellow mediators. 

While Qatar's prime minister insisted mediation efforts will continue, he said no negotiations were planned currently in light of the attack.

Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King's College London, called it a "strike right at the heart of regional mediation" -- and one that Washington failed to prevent.

"It shows that Trump is unable to actually enforce the policy that he is setting, which was one built around mediation," he told AFP.

- Trump plane gift -

A major Western ally, Qatar houses the biggest US base in the region and agreed to host the Hamas political bureau from 2012 only with US blessing.

US President Donald Trump toured the Gulf in May, securing investment pledges worth hundreds of billions of dollars and a major order for Boeing planes from Qatar Airways.

Qatar even gifted Trump a $400 million luxury aircraft to serve as the new Air Force One, the official presidential plane.

Yet Qatar's warm relations with the United States could not shield it from the Israeli strikes on Hamas.

Trump said he was not notified in advance and when he heard, asked his envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar immediately -- but the attack had already started.

The strike "will also put further strain on US-Qatar relations, which is exactly what Israel wants to do", said Krieg.

"It wants to drive a wedge between Qatar and the United States."

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