Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a US Embassy party on Tuesday that Israel acted “wholly independently” and takes “full responsibility” for the attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar.
“This action can open the door to an end of the war,” he said, adding that President Donald Trump’s latest ceasefire proposal could end the war immediately.
Qatar’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that a member of Qatar’s Internal Security Force was killed in the attack.
Other security personnel were hurt, it added.
It did not offer any details about the status of Hamas officials at the site.
Israel had alerted the US ahead of time of the attack, according to an Israeli official, a White House official and another person familiar with the matter.
The White House official would not say if Washington provided Israel with approval for carrying out the strike, but another US official told The Associated Press the American military did not participate.
All four officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
Pentagon officials referred questions about coordination to the White House. And the White House officials did not respond to requests for comment.
It was not clear how much warning was provided or whether the US expressed approval for the strike.
Congressional leaders appeared caught off guard by Israel’s strike.
“I’m not sure about that development,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said when asked about the situation at his weekly press conference Tuesday. “We’ll have to reserve judgement.”
Senate leaders Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican John Thune made no mention of the strikes in their opening remarks as the chamber convened.
It was unclear if they had been briefed ahead of the action.
