Qatar denies prior warning of Israeli strike, calls US claim "baseless"

Majed Al Ansari, Advisor to the Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani and spokesperson for Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the call came only after the explosions had already begun.

"The statements being circulated about Qatar being informed of the attack in advance are baseless. The call from a US official came during the sound of explosions caused by the Israeli attack in Doha," Al Ansari posted on X.

This comes after Israel launched an airstrike targeting top Hamas leaders residing in a residential neighbourhood in Doha, according to CNN.

Addressing the press briefing, Leavitt said, "President Trump immediately directed Special Envoy Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did. The President views Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States and feels very badly about the location of this attack," she said, underlining the close ties between Washington and Doha.

Israel carried out the attack against Hamas leadership in Qatar's capital, which has been a key mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks. Hamas said the strike killed five members but failed to assassinate the negotiating delegation.

According to CNN, Qatar's Prime Minister called Israel a "rogue player" in the Middle East.

"This attack ... we can only describe it as a state terrorism," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said. "This is a message to the entire region: that there is rogue player in the region," he said at a news conference, as per CNN.

The Prime Minister further said that the US contacted Qatar only 10 minutes after the attack took place, and alleged that Israel used weapons that evaded radar detection, CNN reported.

Israeli officials later confirmed that more than 10 fighter jets were involved in the operation. According to CNN, Israel has US-made F-35I stealth aircraft, which are designed to avoid radar detection. (ANI)