Did Netanyahu warn Trump before Doha strike on Hamas? 2 leaders, 2 different stories

The fallout from Israel’s surprise strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar has deepened divisions in the region and created fresh diplomatic strains for the United States.

The incident, which unfolded last week in Doha, has resulted in a war of narratives between Washington and Jerusalem, with conflicting claims over whether US President Donald Trump was informed in advance.

The attack — the first of its kind on Qatari soil — targeted senior Hamas officials who have long used Doha as a political base.

While the strike resulted in six deaths, including five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer, top Hamas leaders escaped unharmed after reportedly leaving the compound shortly before the missiles struck.

The operation has jeopardised fragile ceasefire negotiations, and raised difficult questions about Qatar’s role as a mediator in the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza.

Trump vs Netanyahu: Who to believe?

Central to the controversy is whether Trump knew about the attack before it happened. Trump has repeatedly and publicly denied being informed ahead of time.

On Monday, he was asked again by reporters if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally spoke to him to alert him of the impending strike. His response was unequivocal.

“No, no, they didn’t,” Trump said, rejecting the suggestion that he had been consulted.

The White House has maintained this position consistently, stating that the US military detected Israeli aircraft in the skies and immediately sought clarification from Israel.

According to their account, confirmation of the operation came only after Israeli missiles were already in the air, leaving no opportunity to stop or alter the course of events.

“As President Trump stated, the US Military informed him of Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, and he immediately directed his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to inform Qatar,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios.

However, Israeli officials have provided a sharply different version of events. Axios, citing three Israeli officials with direct knowledge, reported that Netanyahu personally spoke with Trump about the operation shortly before it began.

They said Netanyahu called the US president around 8:00 am Washington time on the day of the attack, roughly 50 minutes before the first reports of explosions in Doha at 8:51 am.

One senior Israeli official told Axios, “Trump knew about the strike before the missiles were launched. First there was a discussion on the political level between Netanyahu and Trump, and afterwards through military channels. Trump didn’t say no.”

A second official echoed this claim, adding, “If Trump had wanted to stop it, he could have. In practice, he didn’t.”

These statements directly contradict the White House narrative and suggest that there was at least some level of communication between the two governments before the strike.

However, the Israeli officials did not disclose the specifics of the conversation or whether Netanyahu explicitly asked for Trump’s approval.

It also remains unclear whether Trump passed on the information to senior US officials before the attack commenced.

Was Israel forced to do damage control?

Some American officials were reportedly furious with Netanyahu after the strike, particularly because it was carried out without a clear consultation process and while Hamas leaders were meeting to discuss Trump’s latest Gaza peace proposal.

Several Israeli officials privately acknowledged that their government decided to support the White House’s public version of events to safeguard the US-Israel relationship.

One official said, “On our side, it was decided to help them with that for the sake of the US-Israel relationship.”

Another went further, stating, “The Americans are putting on a show. We updated them about the attack.”

Despite these claims, the White House has refused to adjust its stance. US officials have pushed back strongly, describing the anonymous Israeli sources as unreliable.

“These anonymous Israeli sources making false accusations against the President of the United States and his Administration should smarten up,” one US official told Axios.

Bombing the capital of a key US ally like Qatar without prior consultation is seen as a direct challenge to American influence in the region.

By publicly denying advance knowledge, the Trump administration has sought to reassure Doha and other Arab states that the United States remains committed to its partners and is not complicit in actions that could destabilise the region further.

How has this strained US-Qatar relations?

The attack struck at the heart of US-Qatar relations, which are crucial to the broader West Asian balance.

Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the region and has played a central role in mediating ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas alongside Egypt since the Gaza war began nearly two years ago.

Qatar immediately condemned the strike as “cowardly and treacherous,” viewing it as a violation of its sovereignty and a threat to its diplomatic efforts. Despite its anger, Doha has vowed to continue its role as a mediator.

Arab and Islamic leaders gathered in Doha soon after the strike to express solidarity with Qatar.

According to a draft resolution seen by Reuters, the summit warned that Israel’s actions endangered coexistence and jeopardised ongoing normalisation initiatives across the region.

Trump moved quickly to repair relations with Qatar. During a meeting with Qatar’s prime minister in New York on Friday, he expressed his unhappiness with Israel’s unilateral action and provided assurances that such incidents would not be repeated.

This meeting followed earlier promises Trump made during a visit to Qatar in May, where he pledged that the US would defend the Gulf state if it ever came under attack.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also been active in managing the fallout. Speaking in Jerusalem on Monday before departing for Doha, Rubio highlighted the importance of Qatar’s mediation efforts.

“If any country in the world can help mediate it, Qatar is the one. They’re the ones that can do it,” Rubio said.

Rubio revealed that Washington and Doha are close to finalising an enhanced defence cooperation agreement, a move that would deepen military and security ties between the two countries.

“We have a close partnership with the Qataris. In fact, we have an enhanced defence cooperation agreement, which we’ve been working on, we’re on the verge of finalising,” he said, without providing additional details.

What has Netanyahu said in all this?

Netanyahu has remained steadfast in defending Israel’s actions, even as international criticism has mounted.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Rubio in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said he would not rule out further operations targeting Hamas leaders, regardless of where they might be located.

He warned, “Wherever they are,” indicating that Israel’s campaign against Hamas leadership could extend beyond Gaza and Qatar.

Netanyahu has repeatedly described the strike on Doha as a wholly independent Israeli decision. His office issued a statement after publication of the Axios report, stating that “the White House rendition of events is correct” and stating that Israel alone bore responsibility for the operation.

Israeli officials confirmed that while the Doha strike eliminated several mid-level Hamas figures, top leaders managed to evade the attack.

Meanwhile, what is happening in Gaza?

Israeli forces have been conducting a major offensive aimed at seizing full control of Gaza City and dismantling Hamas’ military infrastructure. The campaign has resulted in catastrophic human suffering and widespread destruction.

On Monday, local health authorities in Gaza reported that at least 16 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on two homes and a tent sheltering displaced families.

In a separate operation, the Israeli military destroyed a 16-story building in western Gaza City — believed to be the tallest structure in the enclave — after warning civilians to evacuate.

The military said the building was being used to conceal “terrorist infrastructure.”

Witnesses described scenes of panic as air and ground assaults spread through multiple neighbourhoods, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their makeshift encampments.

According to Hamas, at least 350,000 people have been displaced since August 11, the day after Netanyahu publicly announced his plan to take full control of Gaza City.

Hamas also claimed that 1,600 residential buildings and 13,000 tents have been destroyed during this period. These figures could not be independently verified, but images circulating on social media have shown mass movements of people heading southward.

The United Nations and numerous humanitarian organisations have accused Israel of forcibly displacing civilians under dangerous conditions.

The designated humanitarian zones, where civilians are instructed to flee, have been described as severely overcrowded and lacking basic necessities such as food and clean water.

Gaza’s health ministry reported that three more Palestinians died from malnutrition and starvation in the last 24 hours alone, raising the total number of deaths from such causes to at least 425 people — including 145 children — since the war began.

Israel has rejected accusations of genocide, framing its actions as self-defence in response to the October 2023 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and resulted in over 250 hostages being taken.

In addition to its Gaza operations, Israel has carried out strikes in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Yemen as part of its broader effort to counter Hamas and its allies across the region.

Trump has expressed a desire to see the war in Gaza conclude soon and for all hostages to be freed, but Washington has not actively opposed Netanyahu’s strategy of continued military pressure.

With inputs from agencies