US Condemns Israel’s Airstrike on Hamas Leaders in Qatar, Warns It Threatens Peace Efforts

Israel escalated military action in the Middle East and attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Qatar on Tuesday. The US described this as a unilateral attack that does not advance American and Israeli interests.

​U.S. President Donald Trump said he was "very unhappy about every aspect" of the Israeli strike and would be giving a full statement on the issue on Wednesday.​

Reuters reported, "I'm not thrilled about it," Trump said as he arrived at a Washington restaurant. "It's not a good situation, but I will say this: We want the hostages back, but we're not thrilled about the way it went down today."

​Israel claimed that the assaults were justified, but Qatar accused Israel of betraying its people and committing "state terrorism."  Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, stated that the airstrikes posed a threat to the peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas that Qatar has been mediating.

​Trump said that while he thought that attacking Hamas was a noble objective, he was disappointed that the incident occurred in the Gulf Arab state, which is a significant non-NATO ally of Washington and where the Palestinian Islamist organization has historically had its political base.​

The attack drew condemnation from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and the European Union, and risks derailing Gaza ceasefire talks and Trump's push to achieve a negotiated end to the nearly two-year-old conflict.

According to Reuters, ​Hamas claimed that the attack killed five of its members, including the son of Khalil al-Hayya, the group's top negotiator and exiled Gaza leader.  In what Hamas described as an effort to kill the group's ceasefire negotiation delegation, Israel was alleged to have failed.

Trump stated in a social media message yesterday that the U.S. military had warned the Trump administration about the attack shortly before it happened.  He did not specify whether the U.S. military was notified by Israel.

​"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," Trump wrote. "However, eliminating Hamas, which has profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal."

​The Attack

​The Israeli military said it targeted senior Hamas leaders on Tuesday. Doha reported explosions in the Qatari capital, where the Palestinian group’s political bureau is based.

​“The IDF (Israeli military) and ISA (security agency) conducted a precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organisation,” the military said, without specifying where the strike took place.

According to ​AFP, explosions rocking a Hamas compound in Doha were witnessed. “For years, these members of the Hamas leadership have led the terrorist organisation’s operations, are directly responsible for the brutal October 7 massacre, and have been orchestrating and managing the war against the State of Israel,” the military said.​

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Tuesday praised the targeting of Hamas leaders, after Qatar said an Israeli strike targeted residential buildings housing members of the Palestinian militant group in Doha. “Terrorists have no immunity and will never have immunity from Israel’s long arm anywhere in the world,” Smotrich wrote on X, hailing a “right decision and a perfect execution by the IDF (Israeli military) and the Shin Bet (security agency)”.

​Tuesday’s strikes come less than two weeks after armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir vowed to target the group’s leaders based abroad.

​“Most of Hamas’s leadership is abroad, and we will reach them as well,” Lt. Gen. Zamir said on August 31.“May all your enemies perish, Israel,” Culture Minister Miki Zohar posted on X.