Doha strike does not advance US and Israeli interests, says Trump

Israel defends attack on Hamas leaders as justified, but Qatar calls it "state terrorism"

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DOHA/DUBAI/WASHINGTON - Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an air strike on Qatar on Sept 9, escalating its military action in the Middle East with what the US described as a unilateral attack that does not advance American and Israeli interests.

US President Donald Trump said he was "very unhappy about every aspect" of the Israeli strike and would be giving a full statement on the issue on Sept 10.

"I'm not thrilled about it," Mr Trump said as he arrived at a Washington restaurant. "It's not a good situation, but I will say this: We want the hostages back, but we're not thrilled about the way it went down today."

While Israel defended the attack as justified, Qatar said Israel was treacherous and engaged in "state terrorism".

Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said the air strike threatened to derail the peace talks Qatar has been mediating between Hamas and Israel.

Mr Trump said he considered hitting Hamas a worthy goal, but he felt badly that the attack took place in the Gulf Arab state, which is a major non-NATO ally of Washington and where the Palestinian militant group has long had its political base.

The attack drew condemnation from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union, and risks derailing Gaza ceasefire talks and Mr Trump's push to achieve a negotiated end to the nearly two-year-old conflict.

Qatar is a key security partner of the US and host to Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US military facility in the Middle East.

It has acted as a mediator alongside Egypt in talks on a ceasefire in Gaza, which is becoming increasingly elusive.

Hamas said five of its members were killed in the attack, including the son of Hamas' exiled Gaza chief and top negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya.

It said Israel had failed in what Hamas called an attempt to assassinate the group's ceasefire negotiation team.