Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said sorry to Qatar on Monday for a strike that killed a Qatari service member and broke the country’s sovereignty. The apology came during a phone call with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, which happened while Netanyahu was meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Trump set up the call because he wanted to fix relations between Israel and Qatar after weeks of tension following the September 9 strike. During the attack, Israeli forces went after senior Hamas leaders in Doha, killing five Hamas members and one member of Qatar’s internal security force. The strike was the first known Israeli attack on Qatari soil and brought criticism from around the world.
According to the White House, Netanyahu told Sheikh Mohammed during the call that the strike “won’t happen again.” He said he deeply regretted that the missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar accidentally killed a Qatari serviceman and violated Qatari sovereignty, as per The Hill. Netanyahu promised that Israel will not carry out such an attack again in the future.
How the strike damaged US relations with a key Gulf partner
The September strike created problems not only for Israel but also for the United States. Qatar has the largest American military base in the Middle East and has been a key go-between in hostage talks between Israel and Hamas. Trump publicly said after the attack that he was not happy with Israel’s actions, and Sheikh Mohammed promised to hit back at Israel for breaking Qatari sovereignty.
Reports show that Trump was frustrated with Netanyahu over the strike. The president had tried to stop the attack but did not get enough warning ahead of time. Some Israeli officials told news outlets that Netanyahu told Trump about the planned strike about 50 minutes before it happened, though the White House said it did not get a real heads up.
After the attack, things got worse between Trump and Netanyahu. Trump later met with Sheikh Mohammed in New York to talk about what happened. The Monday phone call was a first step toward fixing Israeli and Qatari relations, according to the White House.
During the call, Trump suggested setting up a three way system to improve coordination between the United States, Israel, and Qatar. The goal would be to make communication better, solve disagreements, and work together to stop security threats. Both Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed said yes to the idea. The three leaders also talked about proposals to end the war in Gaza, with Trump praising both prime ministers for their willingness to work toward peace.
Published: Sep 29, 2025 11:10 pm