Netanyahu scrambles as Gulf states push Trump to sanction Israel over Doha strikes
In an unusual move reflecting the difficult position Netanyahu placed the administration in, the United States supported a United Nations Security Council statement on Thursday condemning the Israeli strike.
TEL AVIV — Three days after Israel bombed a top-level Hamas meeting in Qatar, the fate of the group’s targeted leaders remains unclear, as do the prospects for mediated Israel-Hamas negotiations aimed at ending the war in the Gaza Strip.
As the dust settles, has the credit line US President Donald Trump provided to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to conduct operations against Hamas expired?
"It's now up to Trump," an Israeli source close with knowledge of the dynamics of ongoing negotiations told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. "The question is when the president will realize that Netanyahu and [Strategic Affairs Minister Ron] Dermer cannot deliver on their promises of a quick victory over Hamas, and when he will understand that continued support for Netanyahu distances him from the coveted Nobel Peace Prize."
A senior Israeli diplomatic source cited Trump’s top envoy, Steve Witkoff, as telling an interlocutor that Israel had apologized to the United States over the Qatar strike. Per the source, Witkoff said that while the top Hamas leadership may have survived Israel’s assassination attempt, the Israel-Hamas negotiations and the fate of the estimated 18 Israeli hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza remain uncertain.
