Trump says US informed Qatar 'too late to stop the attack'

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff informed the Qataris "too late" to stop the Israeli attack.

"This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me," Trump wrote in a social media post. 

"Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals," he said. 

Trump also said he directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to finalise a defence cooperation agreement with Qatar.

The White House had said earlier that the US informed Qatar of the Israeli attack before it happened.

Qatar had denied being warned by the United States before the attack. 

Israeli air strikes hit Doha, targeting senior Hamas officials who had gathered to discuss the latest US ceasefire proposal for Gaza. The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out the strikes, saying it targeted Hamas’s senior leadership.

Hamas said that its leadership has survived Israeli air strikes, but five members of its delegation were killed, including the son of senior leader Khalil al-Hayya. 

A member of Qatar's security forces was also killed, the country's interior ministry said.