ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump has said he is “not thrilled” after Israel carried out an unprecedented air strike in Qatar’s capital, Doha, targeting senior Hamas leaders. The attack killed at least six people, including the son of Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya, and a Qatari security officer.
Qatar denounced the Israeli strikes as a “cowardly crime” and a “flagrant violation of international law”. The Gulf state, home to the largest US airbase in the region, has hosted Hamas’s political bureau since 2012 and has been a key mediator in ceasefire negotiations.
Asked about Israel’s strikes against Qatar, Trump said: “Well, I’m not thrilled… I’m just I’m not thrilled about the whole situation. It’s not a good situation.
“But I will say this, we want the hostages back, but we are not thrilled about the way that went down today,” he told the media.
Hamas says assassination attempt failed
Hamas confirmed five of its members were killed but said Israel failed to assassinate its negotiating team, which was meeting to discuss a new US ceasefire proposal. The group accused Israel of deliberately sabotaging international mediation efforts and blamed Washington for enabling the strike.
The White House acknowledged it was informed by Israel ahead of the attack. Trump’s spokesperson said Washington warned Qatar “immediately” but stressed that striking a US ally “does not advance Israel or America’s goals.” Trump later assured Qatar’s emir the attack would not be repeated.
However, Qatar denied receiving advance warning from the US of Israeli strikes, saying the notification came after the attack had already started.
“Statements circulating about Qatar being informed of the attack in advance are false. The call received from an American official came as explosions sounded from the Israeli attack in Doha,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari posted on X.
