PM Modi Condemns Jerusalem Attack, Criticises Israel's Doha Strike Amid Rising Middle East Tensions

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was categorical in condemning the terrorist attack in Jerusalem that claimed five lives and left many injured. Just as firmly, he criticised Israel’s bombardment of a residential complex in Qatar, calling it a violation of that nation’s sovereignty.

His emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy may provide a moral compass in a time of disorder, but the reality is that Israel has shown little inclination to be restrained by reasoned appeals. The strike in Doha represents a reckless escalation.

It shattered an unspoken arrangement under which Hamas leaders were tolerated in exile while Qatar simultaneously acted as a vital mediator in indirect negotiations.

For years, Doha balanced this contradiction with American blessing—hosting Hamas’s political bureau while brokering deals that enabled prisoner swaps and humanitarian relief. By bombing a villa in Qatar, even on the claim that Hamas figures were inside, Israel has undercut the very channel that kept communication alive.

Unlike Israel’s operations against Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon, the Doha attack cannot be justified as a legitimate strike. Qatar is not a failed state unable to police its territory; it is a trusted Western partner that houses America’s largest military base in the region.

If Washington sanctioned the raid, it amounts to endorsing an attack on its own ally. If not, then America has been shown up as powerless to restrain its closest friend. In either case, confidence in American security guarantees across the Gulf has been gravely shaken. And it is not easy to rebuild the lost confidence.

The consequences are immediate and damaging. Prospects for a ceasefire in Gaza are now even dimmer. As Hamas’s external leaders are eliminated, control will shift inexorably to its besieged military command in Gaza, guaranteeing that violence—not negotiation—will dictate the future. Even Israeli generals admit that further battlefield gains are marginal. Yet for ordinary Palestinians, the suffering will remain catastrophic.

The strike also endangers the fragile promise of the Abraham Accords, once a beacon of cooperation in the region. Instead, Israel now looks like an unaccountable bully, shielded by American support yet increasingly isolated.

For Benjamin Netanyahu, prolonging the Gaza war may be politically convenient to keep his shaky coalition together. For the wider region, it spells an extended cycle of instability, distrust and bloodshed. Modi’s call for restraint throws into relief the cynical calculus that drives Israel’s choices.

PM Modi Strongly Condemns Terrorist Attack In Jerusalem, Extends Condolences To Victims' Families

The Doha strike may have been designed to project strength, but it has weakened Israel strategically, exposed America diplomatically, and dragged the region closer to chaos. The sooner a ceasefire is secured, the better it will be for Israel, for the Palestinians, and for a world already weary of conflict.