Trump says Netanyahu, not US, ordered Israeli strike on Qatar

WASHINGTON, United States (MNTV) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — not Washington — made the decision to launch an airstrike on Qatar’s capital, Doha, which killed several people earlier this week.

“This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu; it was not a decision made by me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He added that he instructed his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to alert Qatari officials about the pending attack, but the warning arrived “too late to stop it.”

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry earlier rejected White House claims that it had been notified in advance, saying contact from a U.S. official came only as explosions were already hitting the city.

Trump said he later spoke with Netanyahu, who “wants to make peace,” and also called Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to assure him that such an incident “would not be repeated on Qatari soil.”

“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States, that is bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” Trump said, echoing remarks earlier delivered by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

The president said he has instructed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to finalize a Defense Cooperation Agreement with Doha as a signal of continued U.S. support.

Israel’s military confirmed it carried out a “precise strike” targeting senior Hamas leaders in Doha. Qatari officials denounced the attack as a “blatant violation of international law” and a threat to their country’s sovereignty and security.

Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, has been leading efforts to mediate an end to Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians since October 2023.