A damaged building, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders, according to an Israeli official, in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 9, 2025. (Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters )
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 on Tuesday had harsh words about the strike, 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 the U.S. military? Either option raises uncomfortable questions about America’s leverage.
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"Israel would not do what it did without some sort of an approval by the U.S.," said Dr. Yoel Guzansky, senior researcher and head of the Gulf program at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies. "The Trump administration wants to distance itself, and it's understandable, because it has good relations with the Qataris."
That relationship is anchored in hard power. The U.S.’s biggest overseas air base, Al Udeid, sits on Qatari soil and hosts more than 10,000 American troops. Qatar is a top buyer of U.S. weapons and recently gifted the administration with a new Air Force One jet. Yet none of that deterred Israel’s strike. "If indeed the U.S. wasn’t aware, then we have a big problem, because Israel surprised the U.S., and it might cause damage to U.S.-Qatari relations," Guzansky said.
Others argue the U.S. may have been more aligned with the operation than its rhetoric suggests. "The fact that U.S. defenses at Al Udeid were not used against Israeli jets is a great indicator that Washington was not opposed to the strike," Ahmad Sharawi, a researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
But Qatar's international Media Office called claims that Qatar was re-evaluating its security partnership with the U.S. "categorically false."
"It is a clear and failed attempt to drive a wedge between Qatar and the U.S."
Israel's defense minister Israel Katz has promised to strike "enemies everywhere" after strikes. (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
The Doha strikes also highlight an asymmetry in Gulf reactions. When Iran struck Al Udeid Air Base earlier this year, Gulf solidarity with Qatar was muted. This time, condemnations poured in minute by minute.
"You didn’t see Gulf leaders coming and hugging the Qataris after Iran’s strike," Guzansky noted. "But with Israel, the reaction was much louder, with strong rhetoric across the Arab world."
Sharawi agrees but frames it differently: "They were overly critical of Israel compared to Iran. The Jordanian king even said Qatar’s security is Jordan’s security — a very strong statement. The Arabs don’t hesitate to latch onto anything that criticizes Israel, and that showed yesterday, even in comparison with Iran."
The contrast underscores a regional reality: Gulf leaders fear escalation with Tehran, but criticizing Israel carries little risk. For Qatar, the difference offers a chance to rally sympathy and spotlight its sovereignty — even as its neighbors quietly question its choice to host Hamas.
Israel’s military reach is undeniable. But by striking inside Doha, it may have paid a hidden diplomatic price — reinforcing perceptions of Israel as a destabilizing actor at a time when Gulf states seek calm.
The fact that Hamas leaders survived while a Qatari security official was killed may further complicate fallout, heightening anger in Doha while leaving Israel’s core objective incomplete.
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Israel's defense minister Israel Katz has promised to strike "enemies everywhere."
"There is no place where they can hide," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a post on X, raising questions about whether a sovereign nation like Turkey, a NATO ally, which houses Hamas senior leaders, may be next.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/israels-strike-qatar-triggers-rare-us-rebuke-tests-trumps-gulf-diplomacy