Between Diplomacy and Blood.. The Message Goes Beyond the Assassination of Hamas Leaders
Monday 15/September/2025 - 08:48 AM
Abdel Rahim Ali
On Saturday, September 13, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Hamas leaders represent “the main obstacle” to peace and that eliminating them would bring an end to the war in Gaza.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Netanyahu wrote that Hamas leaders residing in Qatar had blocked every attempt to achieve a ceasefire in order to prolong the war indefinitely, adding that “removing them will clear the main obstacle to freeing our hostages and ending the war.”
His remarks came after the UN Security Council session that condemned the Israeli strike on Doha, and following the American president’s (largely symbolic) expression of anger toward his “friend” Netanyahu—while stressing he had not been informed of the operation until just before it took place.
What does this mean?
Before answering this central question—one that will define the trajectory of our entire region in the coming period—let us examine several seemingly disparate issues, bound together by a single thread: their direct link to the Israeli assault on Doha, its preparation, and Netanyahu’s future plans.
1. The Dimensions of the Strike in Doha
The Israeli strike targeting a Hamas office in Doha was not merely a military operation aimed at assassinating political bureau members. It carried a layered strategic message. On one hand, Israel sought to weaken Hamas’ negotiating team by eliminating figures it considered “hardliners,” such as Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin (on whom we will elaborate later), thereby paving the way for engagement with leaders deemed “more flexible” by Netanyahu, such as Izz al-Din al-Haddad in Gaza.
On the other hand, Netanyahu sought to reaffirm Israel’s uncompromising demands:
The release of all hostages at once.
The end of Hamas’ rule in Gaza.
The disarmament of the movement.
The expulsion of its cadres from the Strip.
Even if that meant crossing red lines and targeting top political leaders inside a U.S. ally like Qatar—actively involved in mediation efforts on the hostage file.
2. The Intelligence Dimension
Western intelligence reports reveal that Mossad has been preparing for a wide-scale operation inside Qatar for two years, relying on both human and technological penetrations, including:
Recruiting staff working in Hamas offices’ maintenance.
Hacking the phones of Hamas security operatives in Doha.
Using journalists to collect information on leaders’ whereabouts.
Obtaining photos, videos, bills, and purchase records of Hamas leaders.
Deploying field agents inside Qatar for close surveillance.
Direct access to surveillance cameras in Hamas leaders’ neighborhoods in Doha—similar to what Mossad achieved in Beirut against Hezbollah, which enabled pinpoint operations and even attempts on Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
This underscores Israel’s ability to expand its intelligence war beyond Gaza to Qatar, Lebanon, Turkey—and more recently Iran, where senior security figures were struck in the early days of the 12-day war.
Istanbul and Cyprus
The same reports confirm Mossad cells are active in Istanbul and Ankara, closely tracking Hamas leaders and Turkish supporters—including government officials, party leaders, and public figures. Among them are Abdel Wahab Akinci and Recep Songul, both key contributors to SADAT and ASSAM, two Erdoğan-linked organizations active mainly in northern Syria and Libya.
In parallel, a secret cell was established in Cyprus three years ago, tasked with intelligence collection inside Turkey in preparation for a larger operation—possibly the follow-up to the Doha strike.
Target Bank: Zaher Jabarin
Zaher Jabarin, senior Hamas political bureau member and leader in the West Bank, emerges as a central Israeli target for several reasons:
He has long been Hamas’ treasurer and a close associate of former political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, assassinated in Tehran by an Israeli precision strike.
Israel accuses him of laundering money on a large scale, especially via cryptocurrency markets in Northern Cyprus, assisted by Bakri Hanifa, a senior Hamas financial official managing covert transfers from Turkey and Qatar.
His extensive ties with Turkish, Iranian, and Lebanese actors, particularly Hezbollah leaders.
Israel believes he serves as the crucial link between Hamas’ financial and military arms—making him currently its most wanted man, and one of the main reasons behind the risky Doha operation.
Did Washington Know?
The answer to this question will determine Netanyahu’s room for escalation and his pursuit of a strategy to exhaust Hamas internally and externally—paving the way for the mass displacement of Gazans and handing the Strip to Trump, in line with the latter’s “Middle East Riviera” dream, while annexing the West Bank and pushing its population into Jordan.
A Symbolic Visit
Just three days before the Doha strike, on September 6 (a Saturday, the Jewish Shabbat), Israel received Admiral Brad Cooper, the newly appointed head of U.S. CENTCOM, in his first official visit since 2024, at the invitation of IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi.
Their talks focused on three key priorities:
The Iranian nuclear threat.
Hezbollah’s activities in Lebanon.
How to decisively conclude the war against Hamas in Gaza.
French military officials noted the timing of this visit highlighted the centrality of the U.S.–Israeli alliance in a volatile Middle East. The implicit message: any attack on Israel will be treated as an attack on American interests in the region.
The U.S.–Israeli relationship, especially between their armed forces, rests on a simple fact: America needs Israel as a trusted Middle East ally, while Israel relies on America’s strategic umbrella. Intelligence sharing and joint operations reinforce this bond.
Thus, it becomes evident that the Doha strike—and any future ones—are carried out in full coordination with Washington, regardless of Trump’s public statements to the contrary.
And what comes next?
Trump remains determined to uproot the Palestinian cause: rejecting a Palestinian state, pursuing displacement from Gaza, annexing the West Bank, and dismantling armed resistance in Yemen, Lebanon, and Palestine alike.
In Europe, sources confirm U.S.–Israeli intelligence cooperation operates nonstop, and both sides were fully aware of the Doha operation from planning to execution. Moreover, Netanyahu is reportedly preparing a staged “terrorist attack” inside Israel on the anniversary of October 7 to manipulate global and domestic opinion.
Parallel campaigns of defamation are being prepared against European leaders like Macron and Sánchez, alongside a global media drive to accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism—aimed at forcing Doha to expel Hamas leaders and deprive them of safe havens.
The Bottom Line:
The strike on Doha was not an isolated incident but part of a comprehensive Israeli strategy combining:
Multi-front military operations.
Expanded intelligence warfare.
Financial pressure via funding networks.
Media offensives to delegitimize opponents.
It is an attempt to broaden the war with full American backing—toward the ultimate dream of a “Greater Israel.”
The question remains: what shall we do?
