US President Donald Trump said he was “not thrilled” while stopping short of fully condemning Israel’s strike on US ally Qatar on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday evening, Trump said that the Israeli action was unilateral and did not advance “Israel or America’s goals”, “I’m not thrilled about it,” the US leader added.
Israel on Tuesday struck Hamas leadership in the Qatari capital of Doha, targeting senior Hamas officials in a further widening of its campaign against the militant group.
The strike — which Israel said was approved after gunmen killed six at a bus stop in Jerusalem on Monday — hit residential buildings housing several members of the Hamas Political Bureau as the group’s top figures gathered to consider a US ceasefire proposal in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Hamas said its top leaders survived the strike but five of its lower-level members were killed, including the son of Hamas’ top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, three bodyguards and the head of al-Hayya’s office.
The militant group, which has sometimes confirmed the deaths of its leaders months later, offered no immediate proof that its higher-level members survived.
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration was notified about the attack, which was “unfortunately located” in Doha.
“Eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal,” she added.
Growing criticism
Other leaders were more vocal in their criticism of Israel over the strike, which the European Union said constituted a breach of “international law and Qatar’s territorial integrity.”
A spokesman for the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that Brussels expressed full solidarity with its “strategic partner” Qatar. France, Spain and the UK condemned the airstrike, calling for restraint to prevent conflict from spreading further across the region.
“The priority must be an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and a huge surge in aid into Gaza. This is the only solution towards long-lasting peace,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a post on X.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said she remains “opposed to any form of escalation that could lead to a further worsening of the crisis in the Middle East,” but stopped short of explicitly condemning the attack.
Qatar said the attack was a “blatant violation” of international laws and posed a serious threat to those living in the country.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement Tuesday calling the strike “fully justified” and added that it targeted Hamas leaders who carried out the 7 October attack.
The Hamas leadership Israel targeted “has since continued to carry out murderous attacks against Israel and its citizens, including taking responsibility for the murder of our civilians in yesterday’s attack in Jerusalem,” a statement read.
Qatar is a US ally that has played a key role in mediating between the US and Iran and its proxies. The US also has around 10,000 troops stationed at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which serves as the forward headquarters of the US Central Command.
Additional sources • AP
