President Donald Trump‘s White House pushed back against Israel‘s “precise” strike against Hamas leadership in Doha, Qatar, and said the attack on the country’s soil would not be repeated in a new statement released Tuesday afternoon.
“This morning, the Trump administration was notified by the United States military that as Israel was attacking Hamas, which very unfortunately was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing.
“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.
ISRAEL GAVE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE NOTICE OF DOHA STRIKE TARGETING HAMAS LEADERSHIP
Leavitt also said the attempt to eliminate Hamas remains a “worthy goal.”
“President Trump immediately directed Special Envoy Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did,” she continued. “The president views Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States, and feels very badly about the location of this attack.”
The strike is notable as Qatar has acted as a third-party mediator alongside the U.S. in the battle between Israel and Hamas.
Trump also spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the attacks, but there remains some uncertainty about when or if the U.S. was notified.
“The prime minister told President Trump that he wants to make peace and quickly,” Leavitt said. “President Trump believes this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace. The president also spoke to the Amir and Prime Minister of Qatar and thanked them for their support and friendship to our country. He assured them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil.”
Before Leavitt’s remarks to the press, a senior White House official confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Israel gave Trump and his national security team “advance notice” of the airstrike but was mum on whether the U.S. signed off on the attack.
The Israeli government referred to the strike as “a wholly independent Israeli operation,” in a statement, with the Qatari Embassy in Washington also agreeing that Israel acted without advice from the U.S.
ISRAEL TARGETS HAMAS LEADERSHIP IN ‘PRECISE’ QATAR STRIKE
“Despite conflicting media accounts, we are confident that this was a unilateral military strike conducted by Israeli forces, without advance consultation of the United States,” reads the statement, included in a letter to Congress Tuesday afternoon. “An unprovoked military attack on a sovereign state, a Major Non-NATO ally of the United States that hosts a large presence of American military forces and American civilians, is unacceptable and must be condemned.”
It is unclear who the Israeli military targeted and whether the target or civilians were killed in the attacks.