Trump Has Admitted He's 'Very Unhappy' With Israel's Strikes On Doha. Here's Why That Matters

US President Donald Trump, right, listens as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, April 7, 2025. Donald Trump is clearly not happy with Israel after it chose to launch missile strikes into Qatar. While Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was trying to hit Hamas militants in the Qatari capital of Doha, striking a country which has act as a mediator in the Middle East has sent shockwaves around the world.To make matters even worse, it appears Netanyahu pushed ahead with the attack without giving the US – or Qatar – significant advance notice.Israel’s international alliances have already been put under intense strain by its war on Gaza – only the Trump administration has (for the most part) stood by Netanyahu.But could Israel’s surprise attack on Doha change all that? Here’s what we know – and why it matters.What happened between Israel and Qatar?Israel launched 10 missile strikes at the Hamas headquarters in Qatar – where the militants have been offered immunity – on Tuesday night.Several key figures within the militant group had gathered to discuss Trump’s latest peace plan for Gaza.Hamas claimed its leader had survived the attack, although his son and four others were killed along with a member of the Qatari security forces.If this is true, the strike could turn out to be a huge miscalculation for Netanyahu, considering the international reaction and the knock-on impact for peace talks.The UK’s prime minister Keir Starmer said the attacks “violate Qatar’s sovereignty and risk further escalation across the region”, while French president Emmanuel Macron said the strikes were “unacceptable”.The UN’s secretary general Antonio Guterres also echoed their concerns, saying: “I condemn this flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar. All parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it.”Smoke billowing after explosions in Qatar's capital Doha on September 9, 2025. Qatar’s prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thanil, also alleged Israel had used missiles in the attack which air defence systems could not detect.He claimed Israel’s “treacherous attack” had sabotaged ceasefire efforts for Gaza, that mediation efforts were “part of Qatari identity”, and that a legal team was considering his country’s response to the attack.But Netanyahu has so far doubled down. Speaking at the US embassy in Jerusalem, he said: “The days when terrorist leaders can enjoy immunity anywhere are over.”He claimed that attack was “fully justified” because it targeted the senior leaders who organised Hamas’s raid on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023. Other officials described the strike as a response to the Hamas attack on Jerusalem bus stop on Monday where six Israelis were killed.However, Netanyahu did also insist that Israel had acted on its own, saying: “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.”The strike comes after the chief of staff of the Israeli military Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said Hamas leadership would be targeted across “the entire Middle East” with “no place to hide from us”. What did the US say about Netanyahu’s latest attack?The US is allied with Qatar, and even has a huge airbase stationed in the country.Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the attack on the soil of a close ally “does not advance Israel or America’s goals”.She said the US president had been alerted to the strike by the US military, not Israel, and that Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff then notified the Qataris – only it was too late.Trump “feels very badly” about the strikes, according to Leavitt, and “made his thoughts and concerns about this very clear” when he later spoke to Netanyahu.The US president himself later told reporters that he was “very unhappy about the way that went down” and that he would offer a full statement on Wednesday. Trump says he's "very unhappy" about Israel's strike in Qatar pic.twitter.com/yKkNuZnrxM— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 9, 2025What does this all mean?Israel’s strikes pour cold water on the US’s ongoing attempts to end the war in Gaza.Trump had been championing a US peace proposal for Israel and Hamas which would include the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.But his plan did not include a permanent end to the war – a condition Hamas has demanded, but Israel has declined.This new attack on Qatari soil suggests Netanyahu is clearly no longer willing to wait for America’s backing – and evidently giving up with the talks.The decision to act without Trump’s stamp of approval also makes the US president look weak and flies in the face of Trump’s deal-making skills, something he has boasted about for years.Displaced Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza carry their belongings along the coastal road toward southern Gaza, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders from Gaza City.This will all really rile a man so keen to secure the Nobel Peace Prize, especially as he has stood by Netanyahu’s side consistently while other allies in the west have started to question the catastrophic effects of Israel’s actions in the Middle East.The BBC’s international editor Jeremy Bowen even suggested Trump has been “played” by Netanyahu.Israel’s strikes could provoke further tensions in the Middle East too, particularly between Iran and Israel who have been holding a ceasefire since late June.Iran’s foreign ministry said the attack was a “blatant violation of international law” and an “infringement upon the national sovereignty of Qatar and the Palestinian negotiators”.It also stokes wider fears that Israel intends to continue a campaign of “score settling” for the October 7 raid – especially as the Qatari PM has said his country “reserves the right” to respond.One thing is for sure: this is precisely the opposite of what Trump was hoping for.Related...Netanyahu Orders Gaza City Residents To Relocate Amid Israeli Strikes – But There's Nowhere Left To GoFamine In Gaza Is Underway Amid Israel's US-Backed Siege, Experts ConfirmNo.10 Condemns Israel Over Latest Killing Of Journalists In Gaza

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Trump Has Admitted He's 'Very Unhappy' With Israel's Strikes On Doha. Here's Why That Matters

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