The recent Israeli targeting of Hamas’ political leadership in Doha has sparked new instability in the Middle East and created a divide within the Trump administration, according to U.S. officials and analysts.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took immediate responsibility for the strike, asserting that Israel acted “wholly independently” of the United States.
In response, the White House made efforts to distance itself from the incident, issuing a statement that indicated the attack does not further the goals of either Israel or the U.S.
President Donald Trump later expressed dissatisfaction with the operation, marking a notable yet tempered criticism of Israel from the U.S. leader.
Despite these statements, American officials report ongoing perceptions among Middle Eastern partners that the U.S. bears partial responsibility for the attack, thereby increasing tensions in U.S.-Israel relations.
While Israel did offer a limited warning about the strike to the Trump administration, officials noted that the vague nature of this warning left insufficient time for the U.S. to inform Qatar of the impending action.
Historically, Israel has provided the U.S. with more substantial advance notice of military strikes, which has not been the case this time.
As a result, many in the Trump administration were caught completely by surprise by the attack, according to sources familiar with internal discussions.
The incident has also highlighted growing divisions within the administration between hawkish conservatives who support Israel unequivocally and those who argue that this support undermines Trump’s “America First” agenda, officials observed.
After the strike, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt conveyed that Trump assured Qatari officials that such an incident would not recur on their soil.
The fallout from the strike is likely to be managed by the president’s Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who has been leading negotiations to secure the release of remaining hostages in Gaza—talks now laden with fresh uncertainty.
Qatar’s government, however, did not appear to be reassured by U.S. assurances. In a CNN interview, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani expressed hopes for a
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