After Israel hit Qatar's Doha, Palestinians in Gaza brace as genocide 'enters new territory'

News of Israel's attempted assassination of Hamas's negotiating delegation in Doha reverberated like a thunderclap across Palestinian circles, reshaping the mood of tense ceasefire talks and stirring a fresh wave of anxiety within the besieged Gaza Strip.

For many, it was not simply another military operation by Israel but a sign that its nearly two-year-long genocidal war entered a new and more dangerous chapter, one in which Hamas's political leadership was no longer safe, even in the heart of an Arab Gulf capital that is allied with the United States.

According to leaked details, the Israeli strike involved squadrons of fighter jets and midair refuelling, signalling far more than a symbolic warning.

While Israel described the act as part of its ongoing campaign against Hamas, many Palestinians viewed it as a strategic escalation, designed to change the balance of the war on the ground and the negotiations in Doha.

For Palestinians in Gaza, who have endured 23 months of bombardment, siege, hunger, and displacement, the attack on leaders abroad felt intimately connected to their own plight.

"It's as if the message reached us too. If they can target leaders in Qatar with this kind of brutality, what will they do to us here, under constant fire?" Khaled al-Ashqar, a displaced father from Gaza City's Rimal neighbourhood, who lost his home and four relatives in an airstrike eleven months ago, said to The New Arab.

Entering new territory

Gaza-based political analyst Tayseer Abed rejected Israel's narrative that the Doha operation was meant only to "send a message."

"It will never mobilise 15 fighter jets and conduct complex refuelling missions just to pinch ears. This was planned for months. It was a strategic decision, not a symbolic gesture," he remarked to TNA.

Abed warned that downplaying the significance of the attack could open the door to more assassinations. "Anyone who treats this as a one-off incident makes it easier for Israel to repeat the attempt elsewhere, under different circumstances. The decision may already have been made. What remains are only the technical details of timing and location," he said.

Abed's assessment echoed statements from Israeli officials themselves. Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter bluntly said, "If we don't hit Hamas leaders this time, we will hit them next time."

The words left little doubt among Palestinian that targeted killings were central to Israel's strategy for ending the war on its own terms.

Others saw in the failed attempt an opportunity for regional actors to exert leverage.

Cairo-based Political analyst Hussam al-Dajani recalled the 1997 Mossad operation in Amman, where agents tried to poison Khaled Meshaal, then head of Hamas's political bureau.

Back then, according to al-Dajani, King Hussein of Jordan intervened, forcing Israel to provide the antidote that saved Meshaal, while extracting the release of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and dozens of Palestinian prisoners.

"That episode taught us that assassination failures can be turned into political victories," al-Dajani argued. "Qatar today, like Jordan then, can capitalise on Israel's failure. Together with Egypt and Saudi Arabia, it can pressure Washington to stop the invasion, lift the blockade, and negotiate a prisoner exchange. This is an irreplaceable moment for regional diplomacy."

He suggested that Arab states should not allow the Doha attack to pass without extracting significant concessions.

"The war has reached a point where the genocide in Gaza cannot continue without blowback. If Qatar, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia act decisively, they can turn this moment into a turning point for the Palestinian cause," he argued.

Shifting regional dynamics

For his part, Esmat Mansour, a Ramallah-based veteran observer of Israeli-Palestinian affairs, interpreted the operation as part of a broader strategy.

"This is about Trump and Netanyahu's vision of ending the war with decisive blows that dismantle Hamas's leadership structure," he told TNA.

"Whether the assassination succeeded or not, the message is clear: the political leadership is now a legitimate target, and Qatari mediation in its current form is over," he said.

Mansour argued that the attack would reshape the regional diplomatic map. "Egypt now appears most capable of taking the lead. Qatar's standing has been shaken after being attacked on its own soil. What happened in Doha has accelerated the stages of the war—moving it toward an endgame much faster than expected," he said.

Despite Israel's official insistence that the strike demonstrated resolve, its own media expressed doubt about the results.

The state broadcasting authority quoted a senior official admitting, "We have not yet received confirmation that senior Hamas officials were eliminated in the Doha attack. There remains a question mark over the operation's success."

Well-known commentator Amit Segal echoed the scepticism, "Many hours have passed, and there is no proof of the assassination's success. We are left with declarations without evidence."

Reports later revealed that Israeli officials had privately told Washington the operation "did not achieve its desired goals," exposing the gap between bold rhetoric and reality.

For Palestinians watching closely, the contradictions only deepened their mistrust. As one displaced Palestinian in Gaza put it: "If Israel itself doesn't know whether it succeeded, how can anyone believe their narrative?"

Between anger and fear

Inside Gaza, reactions to the Doha attack reflected a mix of outrage, bitterness, and fear. While many condemned Israel for escalating the war, others turned their frustration toward Hamas itself.

"We've been paying the price for 23 months. Our homes are gone, our children have been killed, hospitals are collapsing—and Hamas leaders were living in hotels abroad, safe and far from the fire," Rasha, a Gaza-based woman, told TNA.

"We appealed to them [Hamas leaders] a lot to find a solution and end the war, even if they would abandon the weapons to save the people, but they refused," he said.

Hamas, she believes, does not care about the people's needs. "The only thing she cares about is the Gaza power and how it will keep its government in the coastal enclave even if the whole Palestinian people are killed," she added.

"Only now, when they were targeted, do they taste what we've endured all along. But it comes too late," She urged.

For her part, Amna from Gaza City accused Hamas of prioritising organisational survival over people's welfare.

"The negotiations were never about saving Gaza. They were about preserving Hamas's presence. That's why we are trapped between an enemy that destroys us and a leadership that doesn't protect us," she told TNA.

Nevertheless, others urged caution against internal division. Salam, a 39-year-old Gazan man displaced with his family to a UNRWA school, argued that the attempt to eliminate Hamas's leaders went beyond factional politics.

"It's true, Hamas made mistakes. But targeting its leaders abroad means Israel is trying to uproot the entire resistance. At this stage, we need unity, not accusations. Without it, we all lose," he said.

Ultimately, for many Palestinians in Gaza, the incident underscored the limited control they had over the events that shaped their lives in the near future.