Call made at 7.45, not 8: Journalist says US knew well in advance about Doha strike

New Delhi,UPDATED: Sep 17, 2025 08:26 IST

It was not after the missiles were already in the air, but nearly an hour before, that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu picked up the phone to inform Donald Trump about the strikes on its ally Doha, according to Axios. Reporter Barak Ravid revealed that at least three senior Israeli officials told him the Israeli Prime Minister informed the US President around 8 am of Israel's plan to strike Hamas leaders in Qatar.

"At least three Israeli officials told me Netanyahu called Trump...around 8 a.m. to tell him that Israel is planning to conduct a strike in Qatar against Hamas leaders," Ravid reported.

"And I have to tell you that, after I ran the story, I got a call from a fourth senior Israeli official that told me that the story was 98 per cent accurate. When I asked him what the other two per cent were, he said, 'The call was not at 8 am, it was 7.45.'"

Trump, however, has publicly maintained he was not informed in advance. On Monday, he told reporters, "No, no, they didn't," when asked if Netanyahu had directly warned him of the impending strike.

He has previously claimed he was notified only after the attack began, leaving him no chance to intervene. The Trump administration has also said the White House was told only once missiles were in the air.

The Axios report, citing multiple Israeli officials, directly contradicts that version of events. It suggests that while the time frame to halt the strike would have been tight, Trump did receive word from Netanyahu personally before the first bombs fell.

The Israeli operation, carried out on September 9, targeted the political leadership of Hamas gathered in Qatar's capital. The strike killed five Hamas members who were not part of the group's top leadership, along with a Qatari security officer, but missed five senior Hamas leaders believed to have been the intended targets.

The attack, launched on the soil of a close US ally, marked a stunning escalation in Israel's war strategy.

Reaction was swift across the Middle East. Qatar condemned the bombing of Doha as "a blatant violation of all international laws and norms, and [one that] poses a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar".

Arab governments convened an emergency meeting Monday to respond to what they warned could further inflame an already volatile region.

Washington, caught in the middle, faces renewed diplomatic strain. The US counts both Israel and Qatar as allies, with Doha playing a key role as mediator in ongoing talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza and freeing Israeli hostages.

Netanyahu has defended the strike by invoking America's own response to terrorism. In a video address, he said: "What did America do in the wake of September 11th? It promised to hunt down the terrorists who committed this heinous crime, wherever they may be. And it also passed a resolution in the UN Security Council, two weeks later, stating that governments cannot give harbour to terrorists. Well, yesterday, we acted along those lines."

In a further public posture meant to blunt questions about coordination, Netanyahu's office reiterated after the Axios report that the attack was a "wholly independent" Israeli operation. When asked on Tuesday whether he had notified Trump ahead of the strike, Netanyahu said the White House's version of events was "correct" and reiterated that Israel was solely responsible for the decision.

He has also accused Qatar of enabling Hamas. "It is tied to Hamas. It strengthens Hamas. It hosts Hamas. It funds Hamas. It has much stronger levers, and it chose not to do that," Netanyahu said, insisting the strike was "entirely justified."

For Trump, the Axios disclosures complicate his attempts to distance himself from Israel's decision. Asked whether he had a message for Netanyahu, Trump struck a more cautious note: "My message is that they have to be very, very careful. They have to do something about Hamas, but Qatar has been a great ally to the United States."

- Ends