U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday voiced unease over Israel’s unprecedented airstrike in Qatar, which targeted senior Hamas officials and further widened the regional fallout of the Gaza war.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was “not happy” with the strike, signaling rare public disapproval of Israeli military action and reflecting growing international concern about the expanding conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the operation, describing it as “fully justified.” According to Israel, the strike targeted Hamas operatives allegedly involved in planning the October 7, 2023, assault on Israeli territory, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
The Israeli military confirmed that several Hamas members were killed, insisting that the strike was necessary to prevent further attacks.
Hamas, the armed Palestinian faction, said five of its members were killed in the attack on Qatar’s capital. However, the group claimed the operation failed to achieve its main objective — the assassination of its negotiating team members, who were in Doha for mediation talks.
“This was an attempt to sabotage political dialogue,” a Hamas spokesperson said, vowing that the group would not abandon negotiations despite the strike.
Qatar, which has served as a mediator between Hamas and Israel in multiple ceasefire negotiations, strongly condemned the airstrike. The Qatari government called it a “cowardly act” and a “blatant violation of international law,” warning that such escalations threaten to derail fragile diplomatic channels.
The war between Israel and Hamas erupted after the October 2023 attack in which Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages inside Israel. Since then, Gaza has faced relentless Israeli bombardment, while regional tensions have steadily escalated, drawing in multiple actors across the Middle East.
The strike in Qatar marks a significant expansion of the conflict beyond traditional battle zones, raising fears of destabilization in the Gulf region, which until now had been relatively insulated from the direct violence of the war.
By striking in Qatar, Israel has broadened the geographical scope of its conflict with Hamas, igniting diplomatic tensions in a key Gulf state and unsettling international partners, including Washington. Trump’s discomfort, paired with Qatar’s outright condemnation, underscores the growing unease over a war that is threatening to spiral far beyond Gaza’s borders.
