Israel’s Qatar strike strains US relations with key Middle East ally

The White House issued a rare public rebuke of Israel for its strikes on Hamas leaders in Qatar, putting Washington in an awkward position between two key allies.

The Trump administration almost never breaks publicly with Israel on military campaigns. But analysts say the deeper question is how much the U.S. knew in advance and whether it quietly offered its blessing.

Hamas said the strike killed five of its members but failed to assassinate the group’s negotiating delegation. A Qatari security official also died, underscoring the risk of escalation when Israeli operations spill into the territory of U.S. partners.

“There’s a lot of opaqueness when it comes to exactly what the United States knew and when,” said Daniel Benaim, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. “But the president has been pretty clear that he was unhappy with the substance and the process of what happened yesterday. This kind of public statement by a U.S. president in the wake of a strike like this is already very notable in its own right.”

ISRAELI STRIKE TARGETS HAMAS LEADERSHIP IN QATAR

Just days before the strike, Trump issued what he called a “last warning” to Hamas, urging the group to accept a U.S.-backed proposal to release hostages from Gaza. The timing has fueled speculation about whether the strike was connected to Washington’s frustration with Hamas and whether Israel acted with at least tacit U.S. approval.

“It just seems like the Israelis wouldn’t have done this without him knowing,” said Michael Makovsky, CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. 

“They’ve got a U.S. base right in that country with everything going on with the hostage talks. I got a sense that he knew, and it’s hard to understand exactly what happened — that if he knew, he sat on it, and then he told the Qataris only when the missiles were flying.”

But Trump had harsh words about the strike Tuesday, writing on Truth Social that it “does not advance Israel or America’s goals.”

The White House claimed it learned from the U.S. military that missiles were on the move and gave warning to the Qataris. Qatar has denied getting any sort of advanced warning. 

If Washington knew in advance, why issue the rebuke? If it didn’t, how could Israel act so freely in airspace dominated by…