Qatar Strike: White House’s Rare Break With Israel Highlights Gaza Risk

Israel’s attack against Hamas in Qatar drew rare public criticism from Donald Trump and underscored the risk that the war in Gaza could get worse before it gets better.

The US president’s break with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left many questions unanswered Tuesday. Trump said he learned of the attack too late to stop it, giving little time to warn Qatar. Officials there said the US notice came as the bombs were already falling. 

European leaders denounced the strike as a setback for Qatari-mediated talks on ending the war and the release of hostages held by Hamas. That group, meanwhile, said its leaders survived the attack, a claim that couldn’t immediately be verified.

Caught between two US allies, Trump said he spoke with both Netanyahu and Qatari leaders after the strike and that he assured Qatar that such an attack wouldn’t happen again. 

“I will tell you this, I was very unhappy about it,” Trump told reporters Tuesday night, adding that he expected to make additional public comments on the operation the following day. “Very unhappy about every aspect — we got to get the hostages back, but I was very unhappy about the way that went down.”

The events, though, raised questions about whether the US president can deliver on his promise. 

“A number of the Gulf States will seek additional reassurances from the United States that they would intervene to prevent this kind of activity on their soil,” said Dan Shapiro, former US ambassador to Israel. 

“And if they don’t feel they can get those reassurances, that might lead to some distancing of the US defense relationships with those countries, which would obviously not be in our interest, probably not be in Israel’s interest either,” said Shapiro, who’s now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Qatar is both home to the largest US military base in the Middle East and boasts one of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds. Trump visited the country in May and Qatar has pledged to invest billions in the US over the next decade. Qatar has mediated talks to end the fighting in Gaza and return the hostages taken by Hamas in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. 

After Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesman Majed Al Ansari noted that the country’s officials only had learned of the attack from the US as the operation was underway, Trump said in a social media post, “I feel very badly about the location of the attack.” 

At the same time as it manages fragile partnerships with Arab countries in the region, the US has had to tread delicately with Israel — supporting its campaign to eliminate Hamas, which the US and European Union designate a terrorist group, while prioritizing the release of hostages and an end to the fighting without deeper US involvement in the Middle East crisis.

Trump said Netanyahu told him during their call “that he wants to make Peace. I believe this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for PEACE.” He didn’t elaborate on whether there would be consequences for Netanyahu’s unilateral action or fresh demands of Israel, even as the US has said the strike didn’t advance the goals of Israel or the US in ending the conflict that’s soon set to stretch into a third year.

Trump has generally supported Israel’s military actions against Hamas and other Tehran-backed militant groups — as well as Netanyahu’s airstrikes on Iran itself three months ago.

Israel’s unilateral action “shows Netanyahu feels empowered to take greater and greater risks to pursue what he views as Israel’s interests. The attack shows his risk tolerance of repercussions from the US is quite high,” said Will Todman, senior fellow for the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

“He feels he can act decisively and in unprecedented ways without incurring serious repercussions from the US.”

Netanyahu called the latest move against Hamas “a wholly independent Israeli operation.” Later, in a speech at the US embassy in Jerusalem, he said the strike could open the door to ending the war in Gaza if Hamas, like Israel, accepts Trump’s principles for a resolution.

Hamas, however, said the attack will not change the conditions it is seeking from Israel in talks. The group said in a statement that five of its members were killed in the Doha attack, but that officials from its main negotiating delegation survived. 

On top of Qatari charges of a violation of territorial sovereignty and international law, condemnation poured in from other Middle East and European capitals. Several states echoed concerns that the conflict could spread — at odds with Netanyahu’s and Trump’s characterization of the incident as opening a path toward peace.

The United Arab Emirates, which normalized ties with Israel five years ago under the Abraham Accords that Trump brokered, warned Israel its actions would have “extremely dangerous repercussions” for regional security. Saudi Arabia, which the US leader is pushing to join the accords, called it a “criminal act.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on X said “the priority must be an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and a huge surge in aid to Gaza,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said that “under no circumstances should the war spread throughout the region.”

Oil jumped after reports of the Israeli attack, which revived fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate climbed 2.3% to top $63 a barrel before paring gains.

Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza since the militant group’s deadly attack on the country in October 2023. Qatar is one of the key mediators between Israel and the Palestinian group, designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union, and has been central to the halting ceasefire talks between the two sides.

Those talks have not advanced since Hamas said in mid-August it had agreed to a proposal to release half of the hostages it still holds from the Oct. 7 attack in exchange for a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops. Israel, which has demanded Hamas fully disarm, has since initiated plans to take over Gaza City, and this week ordered its 1 million residents to leave ahead of a major military offensive. 

Arab nations were already on edge about the death toll from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the humanitarian impact of the war, which has devastated the territory. A United Nations body has declared a famine in parts of Gaza due to blocks on food aid, intended to raise pressure on Hamas.