DOHA: Qatar’s prime minister warned his country reserved the right to respond to Israel’s deadly attack on Hamas in Doha on Tuesday, calling it a “pivotal moment” for the region.
“Qatar... reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack,” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told a press conference on Tuesday evening.
“We believe that today we have reached a pivotal moment. There must be a response from the entire region to such barbaric actions,” he added.
The premier said Qatar will continue trying to mediate a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza despite Israel’s attack on a Hamas compound in Doha.
“Nothing will deter us from continuing this mediation in the region,” Sheikh Mohammed told reporters.
The Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani told US President Donald Trump in a phone call that his country will take all necessary measures to protect its security and preserve its sovereignty.
Doha denied receiving a warning from the US of Israeli strikes, saying the notification came after the attack had already started.
“Statements circulating about Qatar being informed of the attack in advance are false. The call received from an American official came as explosions sounded from the Israeli attack in Doha,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari posted on X.
Qatar wrote to the UN Security Council on Tuesday that it will “not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and the ongoing disruption of regional security” following the strikes, which its UN Ambassador Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani described as “cowardly criminal assault, which constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms.”
“Investigations are underway at the highest level, and further details will be announced as soon as they are available,” she added in her letter to the Security Council.

The foreign minister later said an American official contacted Qatar 10 minutes after after the attack had happened.

“The attack happened at 3:46,” he said, adding “The first call we had from an American official was at 3:56 — which is 10 minutes after the attack.”

He said he did not know when the Americans found out about the attack, or if there had been any coordination with the Israelis.

“What I know now is the official channels we have with the US got notified by the US after the attack.”