Smoke billows from explosions in Doha, the-capital of Qatar, following the Israeli air strikes.<\/p>\n
US<\/a> President Donald Trump \u201cblessed\u201d Israel\u2019s<\/a> attack on Doha, Qatar<\/a>\u00a0which targeted senior Hamas officials, US and regional officials have told Middle East Eye.<\/p>\n The bombings look set to usher in a new chapter of instability for the Middle East.<\/p>\n According to media reports, around 12 air strikes hit residential buildings in Doha at around 4pm local time.<\/p>\n Khalil al-Hayya, Khaled Meshal, Zaher Jabarin and other senior Hamas officials survived the attack, MEE reported.<\/p>\n The attack killed Hayya\u2019s son, Hammam al-Hayya, and his office director, Jihad Lubbad, sources told MEE. Several others were wounded.<\/p>\n Both regional and US officials said the US was notified of the attack in advance.<\/p>\n The White House later confirmed on Tuesday that it was notified beforehand of the Israeli attack.<\/p>\n The White House said that\u00a0Trump\u00a0believes Israel’s strike on Hamas targets in Qatar was unfortunate and he directed his top envoy, Steve Witkoff, to warn Qatar that the attack was incoming.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president views Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States, and feels very badly about the location of this attack,\u201d White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, reading from a statement.<\/p>\n Trump spoke with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatari Emir\u00a0Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani after the attack.<\/p>\n Netanyahu’s office said the attack was\u00a0“a wholly independent Israeli operation,” adding that, “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.”<\/p>\n Some US officials who would normally be in contact with the US operations centre in Doha reported radio silence to MEE,\u00a0<\/strong>implying that communications went dark to facilitate the operation.<\/p>\n