The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that it notified Qatar ahead of Israel’s strike on Hamas figures in Doha, a claim rejected by the Gulf state, which called the assertion “completely false.”
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters the U.S. military had informed the administration of Israel’s plan to hit what it described as Hamas targets in the Qatari capital. She said Trump immediately ordered his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to alert Doha.
“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” Leavitt said.
“However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
But Qatari officials flatly denied receiving advance warning. “The call that was received from an American official came during the sound of the explosions that resulted from the Israeli attack in Doha,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari wrote on X.
Hamas said five of its members were killed, though its main negotiating team survived. Qatar’s Interior Ministry confirmed that a Qatari security officer was among the dead. The Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli raid as “cowardly” and a violation of its sovereignty.
Qatar has played a pivotal role in U.S.-backed efforts to mediate ceasefires in the Gaza war, brokering a brief pause in late 2023 and a six-week truce in January 2025. Its role had been repeatedly praised by both the Biden and Trump administrations.
The strike came just days after Trump urged Hamas to agree to a new ceasefire proposal. The U.S. has accused the group of stalling negotiations, while Israel has been criticised for undermining them.
