US President Donald Trump has acknowledged that Washington’s attempt to warn Qatar about Israel’s strike on Doha came “too late to stop the attack.”
In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump appeared to backtrack on earlier White House statements that claimed Qatar was informed before the attack. “I immediately directed Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did, however, unfortunately, too late to stop the attack,” he wrote.
His admission aligns with Qatari officials who said they were only notified after the airstrikes began. Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani previously stated that the US warning came 10 minutes after the first missiles hit.
The Israeli air force targeted a compound in Doha’s Katara district under Operation “Summit of Fire”, killing six people including Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya’s son and a Qatari security officer. Hamas negotiators, who were discussing a US ceasefire proposal, survived the attack.
Trump also said he instructed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to finalise a defence cooperation agreement with Qatar in the wake of the incident, calling the Gulf state a “strong ally and friend of the United States.”