Israel’s attack on Hamas in Qatar was rarely publicly criticized by Donald Trump, who emphasized the risk that the Gaza war could deteriorate further before it gets better.
The break between the US President and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday left many outstanding questions. Trump said that when he learned of the attack, it was too late to stop it and there was almost no time to warn Qatar. Qatari officials said that when the United States issued the warning, the bombs had already begun to fall.
European leaders condemned the attack, saying it had dealt a setback to the negotiations brokered by Qatar to end the war and release Hamas hostages. Meanwhile, Hamas said its leader survived the attack, but this claim could not be immediately confirmed.
Trump, caught between two of the United States’ Allies, said that after the attack, he spoke with Netanyahu and the leaders of Qatar and assured Qatar that such attacks would not happen again.
“I’m telling you, I’m very dissatisfied with this,” Trump told reporters Tuesday night, adding that he expected to make more public comments on the operation the next day. I’m extremely dissatisfied with every aspect – we rescued the hostages, but I’m very dissatisfied with the way things are progressing.
However, these incidents have raised questions about whether the US President can keep his promises.
Dan Shapiro, the former US ambassador to Israel, said, “Some Gulf countries will seek further assurances from the US that they will intervene to prevent such activities from happening on their territory.”
Shapiro, the current Distinguished Fellow of the Atlantic Council, said, “If they feel they cannot get these guarantees, it could lead to a estrangement in the defense relations between the United States and these countries. This is clearly not in our interests and may also not be in Israel’s interests.”
Qatar not only has the largest US military base in the Middle East, but also one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds. Trump visited Qatar in May this year, and Qatar promised to invest billions of dollars in the United States over the next decade. Qatar has also mediated negotiations aimed at ending the war in Gaza and repatriating the hostages taken by Hamas during the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Majid al-Ansari, pointed out that Qatari officials only learned of the attack from the US side during the operation. Subsequently, Trump posted on social media, “I am very sad about the location of the attack.”
Trump said that Netanyahu told him during the call, “He wants to achieve peace.” I believe this unfortunate incident can serve as an opportunity to achieve peace. Although the United States has stated that this attack has not advanced Israel or the United States’ goal of ending the conflict that is about to last for three years, it has not elaborated on whether Netanyahu’s unilateral actions or the new demands made on Israel will have consequences.
Netanyahu described the latest move against Hamas as “an action for Israel’s complete independence”. Subsequently, in a speech at the US Embassy in Jerusalem, he said that if Hamas accepted Trump’s solution principles like Israel did, this attack might open the door to ending the war in Gaza.
However, Hamas stated that this attack would not change the conditions it had put forward to Israel in the negotiations. The organization said in a statement that five of its members were killed in the Doha attack, but officials of its main negotiating delegation survived.
In addition to Qatar’s accusation that it violated territorial sovereignty and international law, the governments of other Middle Eastern and European countries have also issued condemnations one after another. Some countries are also worried that the conflict might spread – which contradicts Netanyahu and Trump’s description of the incident as a path to peace.
