Ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza were shattered on Tuesday, September 9, by an Israeli airstrike that hit a building in Doha, Qatar's capital, where leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas were meeting. Twenty-three months after October 7, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed that prolonging the war remains Israel's only line, one that now extends to targeting Hamas leaders in Doha after decimating the movement in Gaza and killing its leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July 2024, as well as striking Beirut and Hezbollah, Damascus and the Syrian regime, Iran and the mullahs' regime, Sanaa and the Houthi rebels, while simultaneously escalating the air and ground battle for the total occupation of Gaza City inside the Palestinian enclave.

The immediate gains for Israel from this latest military escalation appeared limited. Six people were reportedly killed in the strike, including bodyguards and mid-level officials. The top leaders of the organization responsible for the October 7 attack, however, were believed to have survived. Khalil al-Hayya, in particular, one of the last senior leaders still alive, was apparently not killed: Neither Israel, nor Qatar, nor Hamas has announced his death. "We confirm the enemy's failure to assassinate our brothers in the negotiating delegation," a Hamas statement said, adding that "Targeting the negotiating delegation, as they discussed [US] President [Donald] Trump's proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, confirms beyond doubt that Netanyahu and his government do not want to reach any agreement and are deliberately seeking to thwart all opportunities and thwart international efforts."

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