Trump says Israel 'won't be hitting' Qatar again after last week's strikes

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Monday that Israel will not carry out further strikes in Qatar after it hit Doha repeatedly last week in an operation it says was intended to take out senior Hamas officials.

"Well, he won't be hitting in Qatar," Trump said of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he responded to reporters' questions in the Oval Office.

Qatar, Trump said, has "been a very good ally, and a lot of people don't know that, but he won't be hitting Qatar. He will be maybe going after them."

It is unclear what the president meant, but the comments appear to leave the door open to Netanyahu taking other actions against Hamas figures in the Gulf Arab state.

Trump further denied reporting from the Axios news website that Netanyahu informed him personally just before Israel carried out last Tuesday's strikes on Doha.

"No, they didn't," Trump said. Asked how he learned of the strikes, Trump said, "the same way you did."

In the wake of the attacks, the White House said the US military informed the administration that the strikes were about to happen after the missiles were airborne, claiming Trump had no opportunity to object.

Leaders at an emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha warned Monday that Israel’s attacks on Qatar had dangerous consequences for the region, urging collective action to counter Israeli attempts to impose a new reality on the Middle East.

The final statement published by Qatar’s official news agency QNA condemned the strikes on Doha and voiced full solidarity with Qatar. The summit said Israeli aggression “undermines any chances of achieving peace in the region.”

The statement stressed the need to “stand against Israel’s plans to impose a new reality in the region,” warning that such efforts pose a “direct threat to regional and international security.”