Qatar Refutes White House Claim That Trump Warned of Israel’s Attack

The White House issued a rare rebuke of Israel on Tuesday following a surprise airstrike in the heart of Doha, the capital of Qatar, targeting Hamas negotiators.

The strike, which reportedly hit a residential district, comes amid delicate U.S.-backed ceasefire negotiations to end the war in Gaza talks that Qatar has been instrumental in facilitating.

As per sources, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the Trump administration was made aware of the planned Israeli operation by US military shortly before it was carried out. Leavitt said President Trump had instructed his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to alert Qatari officials, but added that the administration believes the strike was not strategically sound.

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 from the White House press briefing room. While she emphasised that the US continues to view the dismantling of Hamas as a worthy goal, Leavitt made clear that the method and timing of this operation were deeply problematic.

Qatar, however, has pushed back strongly on the US account. In a statement posted to X, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied any prior warning of the strike. Spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said the only communication from the U.S. came after explosions had already begun to rock the city. The call that was received from an American official came during the sound of the explosions that resulted from the Israeli attack in Doha, al-Ansari wrote.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani did not mince words, calling the strike an act of state terrorism during a press conference in Doha on Tuesday evening. He said the Israeli operation not only violated Qatari sovereignty but also directly endangered the ceasefire talks, which were at a critical and fragile stage.

The incident has already triggered a diplomatic firestorm. While Israel has not officially confirmed its role in the Doha strike, senior Israeli officials have long claimed that Hamas leadership operates freely across several Middle Eastern capitals, including Doha. As of Tuesday night, no statement had been released from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office regarding the incident. The strike marks a dramatic escalation in both the regional scope of the conflict and the diplomatic tensions between close allies. It also raises serious questions about coordination, trust, and the future of the U.S.-brokered negotiations to end the Gaza war.