Qatar attack latest: Trump claims he tried to warn Doha of impending Israeli attack

Completely unprecedented.

This was the two-word description voiced to me by a shocked diplomat in the Middle East in the immediate aftermath of Israel’s extraordinary missile strike on Qatar this afternoon.

This is a corner of the world that has weathered shock after shock over the last 23 months, a region repeatedly on the brink of protracted and dangerous total war.

But Israeli strikes in the heart of the Qatari capital, which the Israeli military said were targeting Hamas leadership even as truce talks were allegedly underway, push it to the very edge of an abyss.

These strikes set Israel firmly against Qatar and make Doha – once a main meeting point and venue for truce negotiations – now a new theatre of war in the Gaza conflict, writes chief international correspondent Bel Trew.

Israel launched an airstrike targeting Hamas’s leadership in capital of Qatar on Tuesday, widening its campaign against the militant group.

Hamas said of its leaders survived the attack but that five lower-ranked members were killed, and Qatar said a security official died and others were wounded.

The attack drew fierce condemnation from a string of countries, including the UK, Egypt, Germany, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Canada. The EU said the airstrike was in breach of international law.

Qatar is the sixth country Israel has attacked since the Hamas massacre on 7 October 2023, when around 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 taken hostage. The terror attack prompted a major onslaught on Gaza in which Israel has killed around 65,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and destroyed large parts of the strip.

Qatari officials are working with the US to prevent any further Israeli attacks on their soil, foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told Al Jazeera this morning.

Mr Ansari said that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent “a very clear message” to any country that engages in peace efforts, even those that help Israel when captives are taken, that “mediators will be scapegoated, will not be safe, and there will be no respect for the sanctity of their job”.

He added that the attack was not only an infringement on Qatar’s sovereignty, but also an attack on international norms and humanitarian law.“But, obviously, this will not deter Qatar from being a country that works towards peace.”

Malaysia this morning issued a statement condemning the Israeli airstrike on Doha “in the strongest possible terms”.

“This wanton act of aggression is a blatant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and a grave breach of international law. It recklessly endangers civilian lives, strikes at the very heart of a sovereign capital, and threatens to inflame an already fragile region,” prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said.

“By targeting Qatar — a nation central to mediation and dialogue in the Middle East — Israel has shown utter contempt for peace and diplomacy. Such an assault is indefensible and intolerable.”

He added: “Malaysia stands in full solidarity with Qatar and calls on the international community to hold Israel accountable for this outrageous aggression.”

US president Donald Trump said he spoke with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and other Qatari officials following the strikes.

“I assured them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil,” Mr Trump said of his conversation with Qatari officials.

President Trump appeared to walk a delicate line following Israel’s attack on Hamas officials in Qatar, saying he’s “not thrilled” about the strike, while stopping short for now of condemning Israel for carrying out the strike, targeting Washington’s ally.

Mr Trump said the unilateral action directed by Mr Netanyahu “did not advance Israel or America’s goals”. He offered notably muted pushback, however, even suggesting “this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace.”

Vice president JD Vance suggested there could be a “silver lining” to Israel’s airstrike on Doha targeting the Hamas leadership.

He told One America News Network that president Donald Trump “doesn’t think this serves Israel’s interests or the United States’s interests, and so he’s not happy about it”.

However, he suggested there was a “silver lining” to Israel’s attack, adding: “It looks like it probably eliminated a couple of very bad guys from Hamas”.

“So, there’s a silver lining, even though we disagree with the underlying decision, but we’re going to keep on working to get the hostages home; we’re going to keep on working to end the war in the Middle East and hopefully bring some peace,” he added.

Israel’s air strike on residential areas in Doha, targeting key officials in Hamas and members of its negotiating team, “is yet another escalation by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu”, said Osamah Khalil, a professor of history at Syracuse University.

“The assassination and attempted assassination of Hamas officials in Qatar fits into a broader pattern of US and Israeli actions over the past twenty-three months.

“Those previous strikes – and the January 2020 assassination of Iranian Maj. General Qassem Soleimani – occurred in the midst of negotiations.

“As in the past, these assassinations will not lead to the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, nor are they likely to significantly impact the morale of Hamas members. Instead, they will continue to delay any eventual settlement and serve as a distraction for Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza City and across the territory.”