US Was Reportedly Notified Before Israel Attack On Hamas Leaders In Qatar’s Capital Doha

Israel carried out airstrikes in Doha on Tuesday, in what officials described as an unprecedented attempt to target senior Hamas leaders inside the Qatari capital. The U.S. embassy in Qatar issued a security alert for all U.S. citizens to shelter in place. 

A White House official told CNBC that the Trump administration was notified by Israel just before the attack. The move marked a dramatic escalation of tensions between Israel and Arab nations already at odds over the war in Gaza. 

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari condemned the strike as a “criminal assault” on international law, warning it would not tolerate Israel’s “reckless behavior” or its threats to regional security. Several blasts were reported in a residential neighborhood of Doha, though there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the operation was undertaken independently, stressing that “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.” In a joint statement, cited by Doha-based Al Jazeera, the Israeli prime minister and his defence minister linked the attack in Doha to the East Jerusalem shooting that killed six Israelis on Monday.

Al Jazeera, citing a Hamas source, also reported that the targeted delegation—led by senior figure Khalil Al-Hayya—was in Doha to discuss Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire proposal. It is uncertain if the Hamas leaders survived the attack, and there has been no confirmation by the group through official channels.

The strike drew swift condemnation from the United Nations and regional powers, including Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, with critics saying it violated the UN Charter’s prohibition on aggression against sovereign states.

U.S. equities traded mixed at midday Tuesday after the Labor Department revised down its payroll figures for the 12 months through March, cutting total job gains by 911,000 and adding to geopolitical jitters. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) edged lower, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) rose 0.28%. Despite the gain, retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the DIA trended in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day.

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