(MENAFN- Live Mint) When Israeli fighter jets fired missiles into a residential compound in Doha on 9 September, they were aiming at Hamas officials in the midst of delicate talks over a possible end to the Gaza war. The strike killed a Qatari security officer and the son of senior Hamas figure Khalil al-Hayya - but missed its intended targets.

What followed, however, was not only diplomatic outrage but also a surprising shift in the peace process. Within 20 days, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump were standing side by side at the White House, declaring support for a new framework to halt nearly two years of devastating conflict.

Trump described it with typical flourish:“a big, big day, a beautiful day, potentially one of the great days ever in civilization.” Netanyahu, more restrained, insisted the proposal“achieves our war aims.”

Why was the Doha strike seen as a turning point?

The missile attack was regarded across the region as a grave provocation. Qatar, a long-time mediator in the Gaza conflict and home to several Hamas leaders, was outraged. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani condemned Israel's“barbaric actions,” warning,“we have reached a decisive moment where there must be a response from the entire region.”

Qatari officials accused Israel of sabotaging negotiations and suspended their mediation role. American envoys rushed to assure regional allies that Washington had no part in the operation.

Yet, ironically, the failed strike altered the political calculus. As one White House insider noted, Israel had angered the United States and Arab governments simultaneously, giving Washington new leverage to pressure Netanyahu.

How did Trump and Kushner move to salvage talks?

The days following the Doha strike saw frenetic diplomacy. Steve Witkoff, the US Middle East envoy, and Jared Kushner - returning to his former role as negotiator - scrambled to rebuild trust. Behind closed doors, Arab and Muslim states drafted conditions for peace, including an end to Israeli annexations and forced displacement in Gaza.

By the time world leaders gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly on 23 September, Trump and Witkoff presented a plan that appeared to incorporate many of those demands. Hamas was told it must“decommission” its arms, hostages would be released, Israeli forces would withdraw in stages, and amnesty would be offered to Hamas fighters.

Arab officials received the plan cautiously but positively. Some pressed the Americans on a two-state solution - a question Trump and Witkoff sidestepped. Others asked how Israel could be trusted to comply.

Donald Trump assured them: he would“handle Netanyahu.”

What role did Netanyahu play in shaping the proposal?

Behind the scenes, Netanyahu sought to water down commitments. In marathon sessions with US envoys in New York, he pushed to strip references to Palestinian statehood, weaken pledges of Israeli withdrawal, and keep the Palestinian Authority out of Gaza governance.

Despite this, on 29 September he appeared at the White House with Trump to endorse the framework. Beforehand, he had been pressed into a humbling concession: a personal apology to Qatar.“Even I apologise sometimes,” Trump reportedly told him, insisting that Netanyahu must do the same. Holding a receiver in the Oval Office, the Israeli leader read out his written statement of regret to Sheikh Mohammed.

Has Hamas accepted the plan?

Hamas offered a partial concession, announcing it would release all Israeli hostages as well as the bodies of the dead. But it avoided addressing the most contentious demand - surrendering weapons. Trump set a deadline of 6 p.m. on Sunday, warning:“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas.”

Whether Hamas's move is sufficient remains unclear.“There are some key areas that we want covered,” said Pakistan's foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, criticising the US text as diverging from earlier Arab consensus.

Did the US achieve its most significant diplomatic success?

“Whether or not the peace deal proves effective, the act of unifying Arab and Muslim nations around a plan also backed by Israel was perhaps the Trump administration's most successful act of diplomacy,” observed Ned Lazarus, a professor at George Washington University.

The plan echoes Trump's first-term Abraham Accords, which normalised ties between Israel and Arab states. This time, though, the diplomacy unfolded against the backdrop of a war launched by Hamas's surprise attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which left Gaza in ruins and Israel increasingly isolated.

For now, the framework offers cautious hope. But as history shows, efforts to secure lasting peace in the Middle East often falter. Whether Israel's Doha strike becomes remembered as the reckless blunder that nearly derailed negotiations, or the turning point that enabled them, will depend on what happens next.

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