US President Donald Trump did not agree with Israel’s choice to conduct strikes against Hamas inside Qatar, the White House said on Tuesday.
Netanyahu has sent Trump’s name to the selection committee in Norway.(Reuters File)
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that while eliminating Hamas was a “worthy goal,” a strike within Qatar, an ally of Washington, “does not advance Israel or America’s goals”, according to AFP.
“The president views Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States, and feels very badly about the location of this attack,” she said.
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Qatar saw multiple explosions in the capital Doha on Tuesday, as Israel launched unprecedented strikes on senior Hamas leaders.
The move against the Iran-backed group was “a wholly independent Israeli operation,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Tuesday, suggesting the US — a close ally of both Israel and Qatar — had no direct involvement. “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.”
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Qatar condemned the attack on Hamas’ political headquarters, with its foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari calling the strike “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms”.
US notified Qatar of incoming Israeli strike: White House
The White House said that Israel gave the US an advance notice of the attack on Hamas in Qatar.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that President Donald Trump directed his aide, Steve Witkoff, to warn Qatar that an attack was coming.
According to Leavitt, Trump also spoke to both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the emir of Qatar after the strikes. He assured the Qatari leader that “such a thing will not happen again on their soil.”
Qatar, however, has denied receiving advance warning from the United States 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 wrote on X.