Trump says he was not informed by Netanyahu before Israel’s strike in Qatar

US President Donald Trump said on Sept 15 that he was not informed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in advance about Israel’s attack on Qatar last week.

Mr Trump’s comments came after an Axios report said Mr Netanyahu informed the US leader of the strike shortly ahead of time.

The Trump administration said it was notified only after missiles were in the air, giving Mr Trump no opportunity to oppose the strike. Axios cited Israeli officials as saying that the White House knew earlier, even if the timeline to stop the attack would have been tight.

Israel

attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas

with an air strike in Qatar on Sept 9, escalating its military action in the Middle East. The strike was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could further escalate tensions in a region already on edge.

Mr Trump has previously said he was not involved in Israel’s decision to strike Qatar.

He was asked on Sept 15 if Mr Netanyahu spoke to him directly to alert him that Israel would strike Hamas leaders in Qatar. “No, no, they didn’t,” Mr Trump said.

Mr Netanyahu’s office reiterated after the Axios report that the attack was a “wholly independent” Israeli operation.

Washington is an ally of both Israel and Qatar. Doha has been a mediator in trying to arrange a deal for a Gaza ceasefire.

Israel’s assault on Gaza since October 2023 has killed tens of thousands of people, internally displaced Gaza’s entire population and set off a starvation crisis. Multiple rights experts and scholars say it amounts to genocide.

Israel denies allegations of genocide, calling its actions self-defence after an October 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage.

Israel has also bombed Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen during its war in Gaza. REUTERS