The US, closest ally to Israel but also Qatar where the biggest US base in the Middle East is stationed, directed rare criticism at Tel Aviv following its operation in Doha targeting Hamas officials.
‘I am not happy’, President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday evening, following the aerial bombardment of a neighbourhood in the Qatari capital, where Hamas negotiators were meeting.
The air raid, targeting the political leader of Hamas, killed his son and five other people.
Trump said that the US had no knowledge of the Israeli attack.
‘I feel very bad about this’, the US President said, while noting that the annihilation of Hamas was a worthy cause.
Qatar, one of the primary negotiators in indirect negotiations towards reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, categorically refuted that it had received prior US warning of the attack.
"We reserve the right to retaliate against this unprovoked aggression," Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said. The area had reached a turning point, he said, adding that a collective reaction was needed against Israel.
Doha, which will continue to mediate on Gaza, has hosted members of the Hamas political office since 2012, with unofficial US approval.
The UN Security Council held an urgent meeting over the Doha bombing late on Tuesday evening.
Israeli PM Benjamin Nenanyahu said he had ordered the air raid following a terrorist attack in Jerusalem which left six dead on Monday.
Arab governments, Turkey, France and Germany condemned the Israeli attack.