As if it couldn't get any weirder. Trump's White house is Netanyahu's house.
White House says it warned Qatar of Israeli strike
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has told reporters that the Trump administration was notified by the US military that Israel was attacking Hamas, which “very unfortunately was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar”.
“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” she said. “However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
Leavitt said that Trump “immediately directed” Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to inform Qatar of the attack.
Trump spoke with Netanyahu after strike
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that US President Donald Trump sees the attack as an “opportunity for peace”, despite widespread condemnation and speculation that the strike could deal a serious blow to any Gaza negotiation efforts. The White House says the two leaders spoke after the attack.
“The prime minister told President Trump that he wants to make peace, and quickly,” said Leavitt. “President Trump believes that this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace.”
When asked, Leavitt would not expound on whether or not there would be consequences for Israel or its prime minister, nor whether Trump is upset with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
US says strikes on Qatar ‘will not happen again’
The White House press secretary has also praised Qatar and said that Trump has assured Qatari officials that such attacks will not be repeated.
“The president views Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States, and feels very badly about the location of this attack,” said Leavitt.
“The president also spoke to the emir and prime minister of Qatar and thanked them for their support and friendship to our country,” she added. “He assured them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil.”
White House seeking to ‘bury bad news’
The Trump administration’s ambiguous stance towards the attack in Doha seems to indicate that the Israeli strikes were a failure that could embarrass both Israeli and US leaders, Rob Geist Pinfold tells Al Jazeera
“On the one hand, this press conference was about burying bad news,” the analyst said, noting that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not mention the attack until prompted.
“The US does not want to talk about this. And it also tells you that this attack did not achieve its goals”, he added.
“I think we can infer that had this strike killed ‘Hamas terrorists’, then the US would be taking credit for it and saying they were involved in it. But the fact that doesn’t seem to have occurred, and, as we’ve heard, there’s at least one member of the Qatari security forces killed, suggests that they’re trying to distance themselves from it,” said Pinfold.
