WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, the White House tried to distance itself from Israel’s recent bombing on Hamas in Doha, Qatar. It said it was sorry about the site of the attack and repeated President Donald Trump’s support for the U.S. ally. Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, told reporters that getting rid of Hamas was a “worthy goal,” but an attack in the Qatari capital “does not advance Israel or America’s goals.”
The attack, which was aimed against high-ranking Hamas commanders, took place in a country that is home to a large U.S. military facility and has been a key player in brokering peace talks between Israel and Hamas since the conflict began in October 2023. Leavitt said, “The president sees Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States, and he feels very bad about where this attack happened.”
The White House said that the Trump administration was told ahead of time of the “impending attack” by the U.S. military. But when challenged several times to explain how the military got that intelligence, Leavitt refused to give any more specifics. She said that when President Trump heard about the strikes, he told Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to let the Qataris know about the attack right once.
After the attacks, President Trump talked on the phone with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Leavitt said that Netanyahu told Trump he “wants to make peace and quickly,” and the president “believes this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace.”
Trump told the Qatari leader that “such a thing will not happen again on their soil” during their chat. Leavitt said that Trump had “overstressed the importance of peace in the region” during his talk with Netanyahu when asked if he had said the same thing to him.