On Tuesday, Israel launched airstrikes in Qatar, targeting Hamas political leaders. The attack drew strong reactions from around the world and signaled a significant shift in the ongoing Middle East conflict, according to Reuters.
U.S. President Donald Trump quickly moved to distance the U.S. from the operation, expressing apparent frustration with Israel’s decision. «Look, we all want the hostages back, but this isn’t the way,» Trump told reporters, clearly caught off guard by the strike. «I’m not happy about how this went down today.»
Qatar’s response was swift and fierce. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani slammed the attack as «state terrorism» and warned it could destroy ongoing peace talks. «We won’t let this slide,» he declared, promising some form of retaliation for the strike that killed one Qatari security officer and injured several others.
While Israel claimed they were targeting senior Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, he apparently survived the attack. Hamas confirmed they lost five members, including al-Hayya’s son.
Many countries and organizations criticized Israel’s actions. The UAE, which normalized relations with Israel three years ago, called the strike «blatant and cowardly.» The EU, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kazakhstan and the UN also condemned the attack. Pope Leo described the situation as «very serious.»
Trump walked a careful line, acknowledging that taking out Hamas leadership was important while making it clear that attacking a U.S. ally crossed a line. In a call with Qatar’s leader, he promised such strikes «won’t happen again.»
U.S. officials revealed Israel gave them barely any warning before the strike and acted entirely on their own, without American backing or coordination.
