A key question after this week’s unprecedented Israeli airstrikes on Doha which killed five top Hamas officials remains who knew what and when? The US says it notified Qatar of the impending attack, but the close US Gulf ally’s foreign ministry said this occurred after the attack already started.
Qatar’s emir on Thursday attended a funeral for the six victims of the Israeli airstrikes. The additional victim was a Qatari security official. Doha is calling for Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu to be “brought to justice” for “state terrorism”.
President Trump’s initial response was to basically issue regret for the bombing, which included very mild criticism of Israel, but to at the same time it was wholly Netanyahu’s decision-making.
Yet there remains an awkward reality which is cause for skepticism of the emerging official narrative: it is by and large American Patriot systems which protect Qatar’s skies, especially given that the sprawling Al Udeid Air Base – the largest US base on the Middle East – is located just west of Doha.
After all, Western media widely boasted of the US defense arsenal which protected Dohan against Iranian ballistic missiles just months ago, related to the 12-day June war with Israel and the US.
American defense systems would have had to be aware of the inbound Israeli Air Force strikes on the Hamas residence in the Qatari capital, and clearly stood down.
Trump has since held calls with Israeli and Qatar leaders, with The Wall Street Journal claiming he is “frustrated” and being “blindsided” by the attack.
“It’s unacceptable. I demand that you do not repeat it,” Trump told Netanyahu, two sources told Axios.
“Trump told Netanyahu that the decision to target Hamas political leaders in Doha, Qatar’s capital, wasn’t wise. He was angry to learn about the attack as it was occurring from the U.S. military—rather than from Israel—and that it struck the territory of another U.S. ally that was mediating negotiations on ending the Gaza war, the officials said,” according to the report.
Netanyahu reportedly responded that he only had a brief window to act against Hamas leadership. Some analysts accuse Trump of essentially luring the Hamas delegation back to Doha on the premise of a new Gaza ceasefire proposal.
At what point did the White House or Pentagon know about the planned Israeli attack?
Max Blumenthal debates Matt Tardio on Qatar, Ukraine, Gaza
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) September 10, 2025
But despite this supposedly “heated” phone call, the Israeli ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, is unapologetic, saying that “We have put terrorists on notice, wherever they may be… we’re going to pursue them, and we’re going to destroy those who will destroy us.”
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