JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump has expressed his displeasure over the Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha, saying he was very unhappy about every aspect of it.
'I'm not thrilled about the whole situation. It's not a good situation, but I will say this - we want the hostages back, but we are not thrilled about the way that went down today.' he told reporters in Washington Tuesday night.
'I'm never surprised by anything, especially when it comes to the Middle East,' he added.
Trump said on social media earlier that he could not prevent the attack as he came to know about the decision made by Israel's leadership 'too late'.
'This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me,' Trump said in statement posted on his social media platform Truth Social.
'I immediately directed Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did, however, unfortunately, too late to stop the attack,' Trump added.
He said bombing Qatar, a 'sovereign nation and close ally' of the US, does not advance the goals of either Israel or the U.S.
Trump was adding to the White House Spokesperson's statement earlier that the President had been informed in advance and directed his officials to alert Doha - but the message was conveyed too late to stop the attack.
Hamas reported that six people, including five of its members and one member of the Qatari security forces, were killed in the Israeli attack Tuesday night. The son of one of Hamas' exiled leaders from the Gaza Strip was also among the casualties. The Palestinian militant group added that its senior negotiators and top officials who were in the capital of Qatar for ceasefire talks had all survived the attack.
The leaders of Qatar, the UK, Canada, France and the UN have criticized the attack.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres spoke out against what he called a 'flagrant violation' of Qatari sovereignty and territorial integrity. He insisted that all parties must focus on achieving a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, 'not (on) destroying it'.
The Qatari Government condemned the attack as a 'blatant violation of international law' and the Qatari Prime Minister said at a press conference that 'there must be a response from the entire region to such barbaric actions.'
Qatar - alongside the US and Egypt - had brokered extensive efforts to end the Gaza war which began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas and other militants attacked settlements in southern Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Tuesday's attack had been Israel's sole responsibility.
BBC reported that the UN Security Council will hold a meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss the consequences from Israel's strikes targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar.
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