The China Mail - Trump issues rare rebuke to Netanyahu over Qatar strike

The White House said it had informed Qatar, a key US ally that is playing a crucial role in negotiations between Israel and Hamas to end the Gaza war, of the impending attack while Trump had given a "very clear" message to the Israeli premier.

"The president views Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States, and feels very badly about the location of this attack," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, reading from a statement.

"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."

But Trump still believed that "eliminating Hamas" was a "worthy goal," she said.

Trump spoke separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani after the strikes, Leavitt told reporters.

Israel's strike on Doha could hardly be more sensitive for Washington, as Qatar is home to a huge US airbase and hosted Trump during a Middle East trip earlier this year.

The attack appeared to catch the White House unprepared, with the exact sequence of events in the US reaction remaining unclear.

Spokeswoman Leavitt said the White House was "notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas."

Trump then immediately ordered his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff "to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did," she added.

- 'Thoughts and concerns' -

But Leavitt pointedly declined to add further details when asked multiple times, including by AFP, to clarify how the US military obtained that information and whether Israel had given prior notification.

Her statement came after a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP earlier that "we were notified in advance" of the Israeli attack.

Qatar meanwhile denied receiving any advance warning.

"The call received from an American official came as explosions sounded from the Israeli attack in Doha," Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari posted on X.

Qatar is currently playing a major role in negotiations to end the Gaza war sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, a conflict Trump has pledged to end.

The fossil fuel-rich emirate also recently gave the United States a Boeing 747-8 jet for Trump to use as his presidential plane -- a move that critics said smacked of corruption.

The White House's Leavitt said that in his call with Netanyahu about the Doha attack, Trump had "made his thoughts and concerns about this very clear."

She added that Trump had "overstressed the importance of peace in the region" in his call with the Israeli premier.

In his call with Qatar's emir, Trump "assured them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil."

There was no immediate comment from the US president himself. But Leavitt said he was likely to react either on his Truth Social account, or during an appearance in the Oval Office later on Tuesday.

R.Lin--ThChM