A deliberate dead end has been created in the Gaza peace process. An Israeli strike targeting Hamas’s negotiating team in Doha has destroyed the last available diplomatic off-ramp, ensuring the conflict will continue on a purely military track. This attack on the agents of dialogue is a clear statement that a negotiated settlement is no longer considered a possibility.
The Doha talks, supported by the United States, were the final, fragile hope after a string of diplomatic failures. They were built on the recognition that a military solution alone was likely insufficient. The strike is a categorical dismissal of that recognition, a decisive move to foreclose on any path other than a military one.
The ultimatum delivered to Hamas is as clear as it is brutal: surrender unconditionally or be systematically eradicated. By eliminating any prospect of a negotiated outcome, Israel is betting it can force a capitulation. The risk, however, is that this will instead provoke an even more intractable and bloody resistance, with devastating consequences for civilians.
The diplomatic framework has imploded. Qatar’s role as a mediator has been fatally undermined, leaving no viable forum for de-escalation. The strike has successfully engineered a situation with no peaceful exits. With the option to talk having been violently removed, the only remaining option is to fight.