By Rejoice Peterside
World leaders, envoys, and international organisations have strongly condemned Israel’s first-ever military strike on Doha, the capital of Qatar, describing it as a flagrant violation of international law and a dangerous escalation in the Middle East conflict.
The airstrikes, carried out on Tuesday by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in collaboration with the Shin Bet intelligence service, targeted the residences of senior Hamas leaders based in Qatar. Doha has long served as the headquarters of Hamas’ political bureau and has been a central mediator in efforts to broker a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The attack came at a time when Hamas negotiators were holding talks in Doha on a new ceasefire proposal reportedly brokered by the United States. It followed a shooting incident in Jerusalem a day earlier that claimed six lives, with Hamas claiming responsibility.
Although Israeli authorities claimed the strikes were “precision operations” targeting top Hamas operatives, reports indicated that only the son of one Hamas leader was killed, while most of the group’s leadership survived.
Israel Claims Responsibility
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with Defence Minister Israel Katz, admitted authorising the strikes, describing them as a direct response to the Jerusalem killings.
“Today’s action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation. Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility,” Netanyahu declared.
The Israeli military also insisted that the targeted leaders “had directed terrorist activities for years” and were “directly responsible for the October 7, 2023 massacre in southern Israel.”
The attack immediately sparked global outrage. United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, described it as a “flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and urged all parties to prioritise peace rather than widening the conflict.
French President, Emmanuel Macron, called the strike “unacceptable, whatever the reason may be,” pledging solidarity with Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim Al Thani. The UK government also condemned the strikes, warning against further escalation.
The Qatari government, through its Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, denounced the attack as “a cowardly assault” and “a blatant violation of all international laws and norms,” adding that it posed serious threats to the security of Qatar and its residents.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, and the Maldives all issued strong condemnations, with several describing the incident as proof of Israel’s disregard for international law. The UAE termed the strike “a dangerous escalation that violates international law and the sovereignty of a fellow Gulf state.”
Back home, Nigerian foreign policy analysts and diplomats also voiced concerns. Director-General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, warned that the attack had “widened the frontiers of the crisis,” urging both Hamas and Israel to exercise restraint.
Dr. Olalekan Babatunde, another senior researcher at IPCR, described it as “a serious attack on international law,” stressing that the incident undermines Qatar’s mediation role and will further erode stability in the region.
Ambassador Sulaiman Dahiru, a retired career diplomat, went further, describing Israel as “a lawless country” that has “alienated itself from Arab nations” through “reckless and condemnable behaviour.”
Since the war broke out in October 2023 after Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel, the conflict has claimed over 66,700 lives in Gaza and the West Bank, while more than 1,000 Israelis have also been killed. Humanitarian workers and journalists have been among the casualties, with over 400 reported dead.
Observers warn that by extending its military operations to Qatar a country widely regarded as neutral and instrumental in mediation Israel risks further inflaming tensions across the Middle East and dragging new actors into the already volatile conflict.
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