President Trump said Tuesday he’s “not thrilled” and is “very unhappy” after Israel’s military said it targeted senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization in strikes in Qatar’s capital of Doha. The strikes drew condemnation from the Qatari government and pushback from the White House.
The Israel Defense Forces told CBS News the operation was dubbed “Summit of Fire” and targeted leaders of Hamas who the IDF said had for years “led the terrorist organization’s operations, are directly responsible for the brutal October 7 massacre, and have been orchestrating and managing the war against the State of Israel.”
The move put the Trump administration in an unusual position because both Israel and Qatar are close U.S. allies, with Qatar hosting the Middle East’s largest American military base. Qatar has also hosted Hamas’ political offices for years, and the Gulf monarchy has been involved in mediating ceasefire talks between the Israeli government and Hamas.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday night outside a restaurant in Washington, D.C., Mr. Trump said he was “not thrilled about the whole situation,” calling it “not a good situation.”
“I was very unhappy about it, very unhappy about every aspect,” the president said.
The president also emphasized that he is aiming to secure the release of the remaining hostages that Hamas captured during the group’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.. Mr. Trump has pressed Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire deal that could pause fighting in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of dozens of Israeli hostages who are still in the Palestinian enclave. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said 20 of those captives are still believed to be alive.
In a joint statement Tuesday on the strikes, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said they “believed that the action was completely justified in light of the fact that this Hamas leadership was the one who initiated and organized the October 7 massacre, and has not stopped launching murderous actions against the State of Israel and its citizens since then.”
Netanyahu said Israel takes full responsibility for the strike.
Hamas said in a statement that five of its members died, but “the brothers in the negotiating delegation” were not killed, as the group reviews a ceasefire proposal floated by the Trump administration. It called the strike “a heinous crime.” The IDF said that “measures were taken in order to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and additional intelligence.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration was notified by the U.S. military of the strikes. A senior U.S. official and a diplomatic source familiar with the strikes told CBS News that Israel notified the U.S. of the attack as it was about to happen. Two other U.S. officials told CBS News the U.S. did not coordinate with Israel on planning the strikes. A senior U.S. intelligence official told CBS News that the U.S. told Qatar about the strike after being informed about it by Israel.
In a Truth Social post earlier Tuesday, Mr. Trump called the Qatar strike an “unfortunate incident” and emphasized that the U.S. was not involved.
“I view Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the U.S., and feel very badly about the location of the attack,” the president wrote.
The Qatari government called the strike “cowardly” and argued it violated international law.
