Read the storyIt took just a few hours after Hamas's assault on Israel for Qatar's prime minister to assemble a team at an undisclosed location in the capital, Doha. As images emerged of missile attacks, gunmen on motorbikes and hostages seized across the border from Gaza, the Gulf state's leadership knew what it needed to do. As the days unfolded from Oct. 7, the round-the-clock operation worked the phone lines — one to Hamas, another to the Israelis — to mediate as retaliatory bombs rained on Gaza, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. For Qatar, the time had come to step up. The nation has spent more than a decade trying to position itself as the Middle East's indispensable go-between, criticized by its neighbors for housing Hamas leaders while maintaining channels to Israel. It's that status in an unstable region that Qatar sees as key to the security of the tiny peninsula, sandwiched between the two great rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. The crisis in Gaza — with Israel launching a ground invasion — has now become the ultimate test of Qatar's ability to show its Western allies they need it as much as it needs them. Read The Big Take. | 
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