'We don't always act in interests of US': Israeli envoy says after Trump's criticism of Qatar strikes

As President Donald Trump rebuked Israel’s airstrike in Qatar, the country has asserted that it “does not always act in the interests of the US,” one of its closest allies. The Israel-Hamas conflict has spilt over to Qatar, after Israel’s military launched an airstrike in the country that is playing the mediator role between the two warring parties.

Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said, “We don’t always act in the interests of the United States. We are coordinated, they give us incredible support, we appreciate that, but sometimes we make decisions and inform the United States.”

“It was not an attack on Qatar; it was an attack on Hamas. We are not against Qatar, nor against any Arab country, we are currently against a terrorist organisation,” he added.

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Hamas has said that its senior leadership survived the Israeli airstrikes in the Gulf country while confirming six deaths, including the son of its top negotiator. Qatar said one of its security officers also died.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes in response to a Monday shooting in Jerusalem that killed six people and was later claimed by Hamas.

The attack has evoked a strong response from the Gulf country, whose prime minister said it reserved the right to respond to the Israeli attack, which it said constituted a “pivotal moment” for the region.

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“We believe that today we have reached a pivotal moment,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told a press conference. “There must be a response from the entire region to such barbaric actions.”

‘Not thrilled’

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has issued a rare rebuke to Israel over its attack in Qatar, as he insisted he played no role in the attack by one close US ally against another.

“I’m not thrilled about the whole situation,” Trump told reporters during a rare outing to a Washington restaurant. “We want the hostages back, but we are not thrilled about the way that went down today.”

“This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu; it was not a decision made by me,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network.

“I view Qatar as a strong Ally and friend of the US, and feel very badly about the location of the attack,” he said – although adding that eliminating Hamas was still a “worthy goal.”

Did US tell Qatar about the strikes?

The White House on Tuesday said Trump did not agree with Israel’s decision to take military action on the US ally’s soil and had warned Qatar in advance of the incoming strikes.

But Qatar, which hosts a large US military base and is the venue of repeated rounds of Gaza peace talks, said it had not received the warning from Washington until the deadly attack was already underway.