White House says Israel’s attack on Hamas in Doha ‘does not advance Israel or America’s goals’.
Washington, DC – The administration of US President Donald Trump has said it notified Qatari officials before Israel’s attack on Hamas negotiators in Doha, a claim refuted by the Gulf country.
The statement from the White House on Tuesday came hours after the strike on a residential area in Qatar’s capital, Doha. Qatar has been a lead mediator in US-backed ceasefire talks aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
“The Trump administration was notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas, which, very unfortunately, was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” she said. “However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
Leavitt added that Trump had directed his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to “inform the Qataris of the impending attack”.
However, Qatar refuted the characterisation, with a spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying claims that the government had been “pre-informed of the attack are completely false”.
“The call that was received from an American official came during the sound of the explosions that resulted from the Israeli attack in Doha,” Majed al-Ansari wrote in a statement on X.
Hamas said the attack killed five of its members but that its main negotiating team had survived. Among the dead was a Qatari security officer, the country’s Ministry of Interior said.
“This was a decision made by [Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He repeated the White House statement about the attack not advancing the goals of Israel and the US, and that he had instructed Witkoff to warn Qatar, but it was “unfortunately, too late to stop the attack”.
Qatar had helped to broker a pause in fighting in Gaza in November 2023 and a six-week ceasefire in January 2025. Its role has been regularly praised by both the administration of former US President Joe Biden and current President Trump.
Israel struck central Doha just days after Trump issued a warning to Hamas’s negotiating team as he pushed for a new ceasefire. The US has repeatedly accused Hamas of stalling negotiations. Israel has been accused of repeatedly scuttling the talks.
Hamas holds US ‘jointly responsible’
“The Israelis have accepted my Terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
The group added that the strike “confirms beyond doubt that Netanyahu and his government do not want to reach any agreement and are deliberately seeking to thwart all opportunities and thwart international efforts”.
“We hold the US administration jointly responsible with the [Israeli] occupation for this crime, due to its ongoing support for the aggression and crimes of the occupation against our people,” the group said.
Leavitt, meanwhile, told reporters that Trump “believes this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace”.
She said Trump had spoken with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu after the strike, but did not say if he threatened any actions against the close US ally.
The Qatari Amiri Diwan also confirmed in a statement that the US president held a phone call with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and condemned the attack.
“For his part, His Highness the Emir affirmed that the State of Qatar condemns and denounces in the strongest terms this reckless, criminal attack and considers it a flagrant violation of its sovereignty and security and a clear breach of the rules and principles of international law,” the Diwan said.
Sheikh Tamim said the attack threatened the stability of the region and obstructed “efforts to de-escalate and reach sustainable diplomatic solutions”.
“Qatar will take all necessary measures to protect its security and preserve its sovereignty,” the statement quoted Sheikh Tamim as saying.
Despite the White House statement, Khalil Jahshan, the executive director of the Arab Center Washington DC, said many countries and residents in the region will still view the Trump administration as complicit.
“When Israel is given a green light to basically wreak havoc over the region and violate international law, violate sovereignty of nations that are not even enemies, but actually very close allies of the United States, one has to wonder: Where does Israel stand, and why would Israel be allowed to do that?” he said.
Qatar, which has remained a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights, was designated a “major non-NATO ally” in 2022, a status the US Department of State describes as being a “powerful symbol” of close strategic ties and a demonstration of “deep respect for the friendship for the countries to which it is extended”.
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