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President Trump on Tuesday said he wasn’t “thrilled” by Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar but told reporters he wasn’t caught off guard when it happened.
“I’m not thrilled, I’m not thrilled about it,” he said. “I’m not thrilled about the whole situation, it’s not a good situation.
“But, I will say this, we want the hostages back but we are not thrilled about the way that went down,” he added.
When asked if he was surprised by the attack, Trump said: “I’m never surprised by anything, especially when it comes to the Middle East.”
The president said he will give a full statement on the situation on Wednesday, adding that he was “very unhappy about every aspect.”
Earlier on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt read a statement from Trump in the press briefing, saying Israel’s strike in Qatar was not in the U.S.’s interests and that he “feels very bad” about the location of the attack.
The administration was notified of the strike by the U.S. military, Leavitt said, and the president directed special envoy Steve Witkoff to inform Qatari officials of the attack. Qatar has dismissed the comments, saying officials were informed once missiles hit the building.
Hostage talks have stalled after Witkoff walked away from negotiations in July, with Hamas and Netanyahu playing blame game over who was stalling over ending the war.
The president spoke with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the attack and reiterated that he wants “peace,” Leavitt said on Tuesday.
Also while speaking with reporters on Tuesday night, Trump also said he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin “this week or early next week.”