Netanyahu 'runs amok'… Trump also says "Not my intention" over Qatar airstrike

Hamas leadership struck in Doha

Trump: "Qatar is a U.S. ally

Instructed Rubio to finalize defense agreement"

Qatar: "We will not tolerate Israel"

Israel carried out an airstrike even on mediator Qatar, citing the elimination of Hamas leadership as the reason. Donald Trump, who had been friendly to Israel, unusually criticized Israel. Analysts say this reflects awareness of Qatar's recent close relationship with the United States.

According to Reuters on the 10th, the Israeli Air Force bombed a building in the Katara district of Doha, the capital of Qatar, on the 9th (local time). Immediately after the explosion, the Israeli military issued a statement saying, "We targeted Hamas leadership located in Doha." Hamas claimed its top leaders survived the airstrike and that five members of the organization were killed. However, it did not provide separate evidence that senior figures survived.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, attended an event at the U.S. embassy in Israel that day and said, "After citizens were gruesomely murdered at a Jerusalem bus stop the day before, I ordered the Hamas leadership to be stopped," adding, "The time when terrorist leaders could go unpunished is over."

This is the first time Israel has conducted a military operation in Qatar since it began its war with Hamas in 2023. Until now, Qatar had mediated negotiations between Hamas and Israel along with Egypt and others.

This airstrike is expected to make ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas more difficult. It was reported that Qatar informed the United States it would suspend its mediation role for the time being after the airstrike. Reuters reported that Qatar told the U.N. Security Council, "We will not tolerate Israel's reckless actions and the continued destruction of regional security."

The United States has been distancing itself, saying this airstrike was Israel acting alone. President Trump wrote on Truth Social, "I received reports from the U.S. military that Israel was attacking Hamas," emphasizing, "This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, not a decision I made." He added, "A sovereign nation and a close U.S. ally, Qatar, was unilaterally bombed — an act that, given Qatar's efforts to mediate peace alongside the United States, does not advance the goals of Israel or the United States."

President Trump said, "I consider Qatar a steadfast ally and friend of the United States, and I feel very bad about the location of this attack. I want all hostages in the Gaza Strip to be released, remains to be returned, and this war to end immediately." He said that in a call with the Emir of Qatar, "he guaranteed that this would not happen again on Qatari territory," and explained that he had instructed Mako Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, to finalize the defense cooperation agreement (DCA) with Qatar.

Analysts say President Trump's measured response, which kept some distance from Israel's attack, was a move to consider Qatar, which has maintained close ties with the United States since his return to office. When President Trump visited Qatar in May, he was even given a luxury aircraft to be used as a private jet.

The international community strongly condemned Israel's airstrike on Qatar as a violation of sovereignty. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized it as "a blatant violation of Qatar's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Reporter Han Myung-hyun wise@hankyung.com