Trump distances himself from Israeli strikes in Doha, promises Qatar, ‘it won’t happen again’

Washington: As Israel carried out strikes against Hamas’ political leadership in Qatar’s capital Doha, US President Donald Trump attempted to distance his administration from the attack, saying that Israel acted alone.

“This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

He added that while Israel’s unilateral bombing inside Qatar “does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” however, “eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”

Trump also revealed that his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff informed the Qataris, but “unfortunately,” it was “too late to stop the attack.”

Earlier, the White House claimed that the Trump administration tipped the Qatari leadership about an impending attack in advance.

“President Trump immediately directed Special Envoy Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did,” said Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, in a press conference.

Angered by the attack, the Qatari government disputed the White House statement, saying the communication came during the strikes.

Majed Al Ansari, the Spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, posted the denial on X. “The statements being circulated about Qatar being informed of the attack in advance are baseless. The communication received from one of the American officials came during the sound of explosions resulting from the Israeli attack in Doha,” he wrote.

Israeli military targeted the headquarters of Hamas’ leadership in Qatar on Tuesday in an airstrike as the group discussed a US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas claimed that the Israeli attack failed to kill any of the senior officials of the group.

Meanwhile, Trump attempted to placate the Qatari leadership and promised no future attacks.

“I view Qatar as a strong Ally and friend of the US, and feel very badly about the location of the attack. I assured them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil. I have directed Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to finalize the Defense Cooperation Agreement with Qatar,” Trump added.

The US president also spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani after the attack.

IANS