India, Sept. 11 -- Can a country enforce peace by bombing negotiators based in a sovereign nation? Israel appears to think so, going by its attack on Hamas officials in the Qatari capital of Doha. The reaction of the leadership in the US, a key ally of both Qatar and Israel, has made it clear that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went ahead with the attack while keeping the Americans in the dark. The attack raises two other important issues. One, Israel has again transgressed borders to target an enemy in a third country. In the past, it has targeted Hamas officials in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran, raising the spectre of a war with the potential to engulf the whole of West Asia and significant consequences for global trade. Second, Qatar, while not necessarily a neutral actor in West Asia, is one of the few countries that has the ear of Hamas and also hosts US troops at the largest American military base in the region. And if Qatar agreed to host Hamas's political office, it was because it was asked to do so by the US and Israel. In addition to the Qatari leadership's angry response, other influential regional players such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have closed ranks to back Qatar in confronting threats to its security. With Israel apparently unwilling to engage with peace plans proposed by the Arab League or other countries in the region and outside, Qatar has emerged as a crucial mediator for some time and needs to be secured as a protected site so that tricky negotiations over the future of Gaza can continue unimpeded. The Trump administration has failed to deliver on its pledges of ending the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and it is not enough for the US president to let Netanyahu off with a slap on the wrist. There are also signs that Israel and Hamas seem more interested in a war of attrition than working towards a durable peace in Gaza, now facing famine and massive distress. As more countries recognise a Palestinian State, Israel has been eyeing territory and set its eyes on Gaza City. Hamas has benefited from Israel's hawkish policy to emerge as the sole voice of Gaza. With the UN completely ineffectual and Trump busy with his tariff wars, the people of Gaza are staring into an abyss. The Doha attacks only exacerbate this feeling of despondency....