Trump WH shaken by Israel strikes on Hamas in Qatar

President Trump said tonight that he is very unhappy about Israeli strikes that attempted to target a meeting of Hamas officials in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar today, and that Israel did not inform him in advance about it. The Hamas officials were reportedly meeting in Doha to discuss a new U.S. proposal to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

“I am not thrilled about it. I am not thrilled about the whole situation,” Trump told White House pool reporters as he entered a Washington seafood restaurant tonight a block from the White House, accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, and other White House officials.

“We want to get the hostages back,” he continued. “But we are not thrilled about the way that went down today.”

Did Israel tell you in advance, a reporter asked him.

“No,” Trump said, shaking his head.

Was he caught by surprise?

“I’m never surprised by anything, especially when it comes to the Middle East,” Trump said.

“I’ll be giving a full statement tomorrow. But I will tell you this: I was very unhappy about it, I was very unhappy about every aspect of it,” he said. “We’ve got to get the hostages back. But I was very unhappy about the way that went down.”

Earlier, the White House said in what appeared to be a very carefully crafted statement that the Trump administration had been notified by the United States military this morning about the Israeli strikes in Qatar, and that Trump had immediately directed his Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff to inform the Qataris.

“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,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told journalists at the White House press briefing. “However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”

“President Trump immediately directed Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did,” Leavitt said.

Qatari officials angrily responded to the White House statement that by the time a U.S. official told them of the Israeli strikes, that they could already hear the explosions.

“The statements being circulated about Qatar being informed of