US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he was “not thrilled about whole situation” with Israel’s strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar and announced he would deliver a full statement on the incident tomorrow. He also warned that the attack could jeopardize fragile efforts to secure a Gaza ceasefire.“I’m not thrilled about the whole situation. It’s not a good situation,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “But I will say this, we want the hostages back, but we are not thrilled about the way that went down. I’ll be giving a full statement tomorrow, but I will tell you this — I was very unhappy about every aspect.”
Israeli strike in Doha kills six, sparks Qatar anger
The statement came after Israeli Air Force jets struck residential buildings in Doha’s Katara district, targeting Hamas leaders who were meeting to discuss Trump’s ceasefire proposal for Gaza. While the top Hamas officials survived, six people, including a Qatari security officer were killed. The strike drew a sharp condemnation from Qatar, which denounced it as “state terrorism” and vowed to respond.The Israeli military, for its part, defended the strike, saying it used “precise munitions” and “additional intelligence” to minimize civilian casualties while vowing to continue targeting Hamas leaders abroad. Witnesses in Doha reported multiple explosions and plumes of smoke rising over the Katara district.The attack has complicated Trump’s ongoing attempts to secure a Gaza ceasefire while exposing strains in his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with Washington’s Gulf allies. Several of Trump’s own advisers expressed anger that Israel did not notify the United States in advance and that the administration was unable to warn Qatari officials, news agency CNN reported. According to US officials, US President first learned of the operation only shortly before it began not from Israel, but from Chairman of the Joint Staff General Dan Caine. He then instructed White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has close ties with Doha, to alert the Qataris. But by the time Witkoff could reach them, it was too late.The lack of communication further fueled White House frustration, particularly since Witkoff had met with Netanyahu’s adviser Ron Dermer just a day earlier but was not informed of the imminent strike.In a separate post on his Truth Social platform, Trump stressed that the strike was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu and he was not involved in it. He criticised the attack, calling it a unilateral strike in a “Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States” that “does not advance Israel or America’s goals.” However, he added that “eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
JD Vance backs Donald Trump
Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday voiced frustration over Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, saying President Donald Trump believed the move did not advance either US or Israeli interests.“The president made very clear today that he’s not happy about that – we just left the Oval Office and spoke about that,” Vance said in a pre-taped interview with One America News Network host Matt Gaetz. “You saw Karoline Leavitt, our great White House press secretary, talk about this – he doesn’t think this serves Israel’s interests or the United States’ interests, and so he’s not happy about it, but we’re going to keep on working for peace despite it.”Vance also pointed to what he called a “silver lining,” saying the strike likely removed “a couple of very bad guys from Hamas,” even though he stressed the administration disagreed with the decision to carry it out.
