The Israeli Qatar Hamas attack HAS annoyed the American President and Qatar….
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Israel struck the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Qatar on Tuesday as the group’s top figures gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The strike on the territory of a U.S. ally marked a stunning escalation and risked upending talks aimed at winding down the war and freeing hostages.
The attack angered Qatar, an energy-rich Gulf nation hosting thousands of American troops that has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas throughout the 23-month-old war and even before. It condemned what it referred to as a “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms” as smoke rose over its capital, Doha. Other key U.S. allies in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, promised their support to Qatar.
Hamas said in a statement its top leaders survived the strike but that five lower-level members were killed, including the son of Khalil al-Hayya — Hamas’ leader for Gaza and its top negotiator — three bodyguards, and the head of al-Hayya’s office. Hamas, which has sometimes only confirmed the assassination of its leaders months later, offered no immediate proof that al-Hayya and other senior figures had survived….
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In contrast to previous Israeli operations against senior militants abroad, Netanyahu was quick to publicly claim the strike, saying: “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it and Israel takes full responsibility.”
He said the decision was made Monday after a shooting attack in Jerusalem that killed six people and an attack on Israeli forces in Gaza that killed four soldiers….
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Trump Reaction…
Trump was informed of the strike only shortly before it began — and not by Israel itself, but by Chairman of the Joint Staff Gen. Dan Caine, according to a US official. He immediately told White House special envoy Steve Witkoff to brief them, according to another US official. Witkoff has a longstanding relationship with the Qataris.
However, by the time Witkoff was able to reach them, it was too late, a US official told CNN. Adding to the ire, Witkoff had met Monday with one of Netanyahu’s top advisers, Ron Dermer, but was not alerted of the impending strikes during those talks.
“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,” Trump told reporters Tuesday evening. He added that he’d be giving a “full statement” on Wednesday….
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Donald Trump has said that Israel’s decision to attack Hamas leaders in Qatar was made by Benjamin Netanyahu alone and not by him. As questions continue to swirl over the timeline and sequence of events that led to the US being told of Israel’s attack on Doha, and over the level and nature of Trump’s involvement, if any, the US president wrote a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform distancing himself from the strikes.
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Six people were killed in the strike on Doha, according to Hamas, but its top leadership, including the team negotiating for a peace deal in Gaza, survived the attack. The dead included the son of its exiled Gaza chief, Khalil al-Hayya, and an aide to the leader, along with a member of Qatar’s internal security forces.
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Trump and White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the US military informed the Trump administration on Tuesday morning that Israel was going to strike Doha. But Leavitt would not answer when asked who informed the US military.
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The White House also called the incident “unfortunate”, saying Trump “views Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States, and feels very badly about the location of the attack” – but stopped short of condemnation. In a carefully worded statement, Trump said that “unilaterally bombing inside Qatar … does not advance Israel or America’s goals” but added that “eliminating Hamas … is a worthy goal”.
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Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said that US officials first warned Qatar of the Israeli attack 10 minutes after it began, describing the strike as “100% treacherous”. Al-Thani poured water on US claims that Qatar was given advanced warning of the attack, and blamed Israel for sabotaging what he said were chances for peace, sharply criticizing Netanyahu whom he said practiced “state terrorism”. He also said that mediation efforts are part of the Qatari identity and nothing would deter its role in that regard.
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Qatar also told the United Nations Security Council that it will “not tolerate this reckless Israeli behaviour and the ongoing disruption of regional security”. “The state of Qatar strongly condemns this cowardly criminal assault, which constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms,” Qatar’s UN ambassador Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani wrote to the council on Tuesday in a letter seen by Reuters.
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The security council is to meet on Wednesday to discuss the attack on Qatar, AFP reported, citing diplomatic sources.
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Turkey accused Israel of adopting “terrorism as state policy” while UK prime minister Keir Starmer said it “violated Qatar’s sovereignty and risked further escalation across the region”. But UK sources confirmed that the prime minister still intended to meet the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, in London on Wednesday.
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In other news, Trump announced that Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped in Iraq over two years ago, had been released from captivity by Shiite militia Kataib Hezbollah. Tsurkov, a Princeton University researcher, went missing in Iraq during a research trip in March 2023.
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The flotilla attempting to reach Gaza reported that one of its boats, the British-flagged Alma had been hit by a suspected drone strike while docked in Tunisia, calling it a “very clear intimidation tactic to keep us from setting sail tomorrow”. The report came a day after the group said another of its vessels was struck in Tunisian waters….