Netanyahu notified Trump 50 minutes before Israeli strike on Hamas in Doha, he ‘didn’t say no’: Report

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed US President Donald Trump around 50 minutes before an Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, according to an Axios report, citing three Israeli officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

According to the report, as many as seven Israeli officials said that the White House was aware of the planned attack prior to the missile launch.

However, US officials maintain that Washington was only updated after the missiles were fired.

The Israeli advance notice reportedly gave Trump enough time to potentially call off the strike, the three officials told Axios.

On Tuesday evening, President Trump, however, denied being notified in advance about Israel’s missile strike, despite reports from Israeli officials stating otherwise.

“As President Trump stated, the US Military informed him of Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, and he immediately directed his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to inform Qatar,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios.

According to the report, citing US officials, the military spotted Israeli jets in the air and sought clarification from Israel only after ballistic missiles were already in flight toward the Hamas compound. Although Special Envoy Witkoff quickly warned Qatari officials, the missiles had already struck by then, added the report.

The attack on Qatar — a key US ally — drew Trump’s public disapproval, raising questions about coordination between Washington and Tel Aviv. Bombing a US partner without prior consultation would mark a bold move by Israel, especially as Hamas leaders were reportedly meeting to discuss Trump’s recent Gaza peace plan.

However, three Israeli officials told Axios Netanyahu had called Trump around 8 am Washington time, roughly 50 minutes before the first explosions were reported at 8:51 am.

“Trump knew about the strike before the missiles were launched. First there was a discussion on the political level between Netanyahu and Trump, and afterwards through military channels. Trump didn’t say no,” a senior Israeli official was quoted as saying.

Another Israeli official said Washington was “well in advance” informed politically and “if Trump had wanted to stop it, he could have. In practice, he didn’t.”

Both officials claimed Israel would have called off the strike if Trump had objected.

Details of the Trump-Netanyahu call remain unclear, including whether Netanyahu sought explicit permission or merely informed Trump of the planned attack.

Some US officials reportedly expressed anger at Netanyahu following the strike.

Netanyahu has repeatedly stated the operation was a unilateral Israeli action, including during a Monday press conference alongside Senator Marco Rubio, who is scheduled to meet Qatari officials in Doha.

A third Israeli official admitted that Israel cooperated with the White House in publicly denying prior notification “for the sake of the US-Israel relationship,” with another official asserting, “The Americans are putting on a show. We updated them about the attack.”

Additional Israeli sources suggested the Trump administration had political reasons to distance itself from the strike, and that this was not the first instance of the US making misleading public statements about conversations with Israel.

A US official dismissed the Israeli claims as “false accusations,” urging the anonymous sources to “smarten up.”

The strike has strained US-Qatar relations, heightened tensions between Washington and Tel Aviv, and further isolated Israel on the regional and global stage.

The attack killed five Hamas members and one Qatari security officer. Hamas claimed its top leaders survived, a fact Israeli officials confirmed to Axios, noting intelligence showed senior leaders had left the targeted building shortly before the explosions.

With inputs from agencies