Qatar denies the claims made by the White House that the USA informed Qatar prior to drone attacks on Doha by Israel. Qatar has labelled these statements as baseless. Majid al-Ansari, advisor to the Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rehman bin Jassim Al Thani and spokesperson of Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the call came only 10 minutes after the explosion had already begun.
Meanwhile, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, in her press conference, said that the United States administration had informed the Qatari government before Israel attacked Hamas’s office in Doha.
“The statements being circulated about Qatar being informed of the attack in advance are baseless. The call from a US official came during the sound of explosions caused by the Israeli attack in Doha,” Al Ansari posted on X.
Addressing the press briefing, Leavitt said, “President Trump immediately directed Special Envoy Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did. The President views Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States and feels very badly about the location of this attack,” she said, underlining the close ties between Washington and Doha.
Israel carried out a targeted attack on Hamas leadership in Doha, Qatar’s capital, despite the Gulf state’s role as a key mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks. According to Hamas, the strikes killed five of its members but failed to eliminate the core negotiating delegation.
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Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani condemned the assault in a late-night address, calling Israel a “rogue player in the Middle East.” His remarks came just hours after Israel launched multiple drone strikes on Doha, an unprecedented escalation that Qatar says violates its sovereignty and undermines its mediation role.
Qatar’s Prime Minister said that the US contacted Qatar only 10 minutes after the attack took place, and alleged that Israel used weapons that evaded radar detection. Israeli officials later confirmed that more than 10 fighter jets were involved in the operation, and according to CNN, Israel has US-made F-35l stealth aircraft, which are designed to avoid radar detection.