The White House distanced itself Tuesday from Israel's strikes against Hamas in Doha, reiterating President Donald Trump's support for ally Qatar, while declining to confirm if Israel had pre-notified Washington of its attack.
While eliminating Hamas was a "worthy goal," a strike in the Qatari capital Doha "does not advance Israel's or America's goals," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, reading from a statement.
"The president views Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States and feels very badly about the location of this attack," she said.
Qatar denied receiving advance warning from the United States of Israeli strikes on Doha, saying the notification came after the attack had already started.
"Statements circulating about Qatar being informed of the attack in advance are false. 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, which is home to a large US military base, has played a key role in mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.
"The Trump administration was notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas," Leavitt said, pointedly declining to add further details when asked multiple times to clarify how the military obtained that information.
Earlier, a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity had said simply that "we were notified."
Upon learning of the forthcoming strikes, "Trump immediately directed Special Envoy (Steve) Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did," Leavitt said.
Following the strikes, Trump spoke separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Netanyahu "told President Trump that he wants to make peace and quickly," Leavitt said, adding that Trump "believes this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace."
In his call with the Qatari leader, Trump "assured them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil."
Asked if he had made that clear to Netanyahu, Leavitt replied that Trump had "overstressed the importance of peace in the region" in his call with the Israeli premier.
AFP
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